CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Dera Sachkhand at Ballan near Jalandhar on February 1 on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, just after the presentation of the Union Budget in the Parliament.
Accompanied by senior leaders of the BJP, Dera head Niranjan Dass met PM Modi last year at his residence in Delhi and extended him an invitation for the celebrations to mark Gurpurab of Guru Ravidass on February 1, besides requesting him for countrywide celebrations to mark the 650th birth anniversary of the spiritual leader, falling this year.
Dass was accompanied by former Union MoS Vijay Sampla, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and former CPS and BJP leader Avinash Chander.
Interestingly, Sant Niranjan Dass, who is the head of Dera Ballan, which is one of the most revered places for the Ravidassia community, was in the list of the Padma Shri awardees for the year two days ago.
Sources said that generally on that day, PM Modi visits Seer Govardhan, the birthplace of Guru Ravidass in Varanasi, which falls in his own parliamentary constituency.
However, his visit to Dera Ballan this year is said to have been planned to expand his saffron party's base among the SC community, which accounts for 32 per cent of the population in Punjab, the highest such proportion among all States.
As most of the SC population is concentrated in the Doaba region of the State, accounting for 45 per cent of the population in this belt.
Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu confirmed the Prime Minister's visit. "He (Modi) will leave for the Dera just after the presentation of the Union Budget in the parliament,’’ he said.
Bittu also said, "It is a great moment for the people of Punjab across all communities that PM Modi has acknowledged the invitation extended by Dera management to attend Ravidas Jayanti at Dera Ballan.’’
The PM's visit is significant, especially when the BJP is hoping to make inroads on its own in a state where it has at best been a subordinate partner so far to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
The SAD-BJP alliance broke over the farm laws that were later withdrawn in 2020.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party government has been making plans in this regard, but the BJP has clearly taken a lead with the move, as saffron party leaders expect that Modi might make some kind of announcement.
On the other hand, AAP is planning to hold a state-level function and plans to acquire a 12-acre plot of land to set up the Guru Ravidass Research Centre near the Dera.
This announcement for the research centre was first made by former CM and senior Congress leader Charanjit Channi.
Besides Channi, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and the Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa have been paying visits to the Dera.
Notably, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has met Dass in recent times as the party tries to regain its lost base.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is also expected to visit the ‘tapo-asthan’ of Guru Ravidas at Khuralgarh in Hoshiarpur on February 6, where a 151-feet-tall Minar-e-Begampura is set to be unveiled.
