The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated Padma Shri Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and Padma Shri Vikramjit Singh Sahni as members of the Rajya Sabha from Punjab. The biennial elections to 57 seats of the Rajya Sabha spread across 15 states will be held on June 10.
The AAP presently has eight seats in the Upper House and the party has nominated two more candidates to take its tally to 10.
This comes as the term of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab Ambika Soni (Congress) and Balwinder Singh Bhunder (Shiromani Akali Dal) is due to expire on July 4.
Seechewal, who spearheaded an anti-river pollution campaign in Punjab, is popularly known as “Eco-Baba”. An environment activist, he is credited with cleaning of 160-km long Kali Bein rivulet in Sultanpur Lodhi.
He single-handedly cleaned and restored Kali Bein river, a 160 km long tributary of Beas in Doaba region of Punjab.
Seechewal, born in a farmer’s family in Jalandhar, started the water-cleaning project of Kali Bein earlier in 2007.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2017 for running a campaign for many years to stop the increasing pollution in the rivers.
Vikramjit Singh Sahni
Padma Shri awardee Vikramjeet Singh Sahni is an entrepreneur, educationist and philanthropist.
He evacuated over 500 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs by sending three chartered flights and rehabilitated them other than ensuring free education of their children.
Sahni’s selfless service during Covid-19 includes artificial intelligence-run mobile testing clinics, 2,000 oxygen cylinders and langar sewa serving 1 lakh people every day.
He has also been conferred with International Peace Award by former Mauritius president Anerood Jugnauth.
He is the international president of the WPO (World Punjabi Organisation) which functions in 22 countries to foster social, economic, and cultural bonding.
