Sikh MLAs hailed in Orissa assembly

Sikhs living in Orissa have a good news. Two of their community members have been elected to Orissa assembly and one of them being named as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.

While former minister Bhupinder Singh, MLA from Narla in Kalahandi district, was named as leader of CLP, Santosh Singh Saluja had already taken oath as a legislator for the third time representating Kantabanji in Balangir district.
    
Singh has been elected to the assembly for the fourth time. Though only 0.5 per cent of Orissa's population were Sikhs, the two leaders were popular in their respective areas. Saluja defeated BJD MLA H M Khan by over 22,000 votes while Singh's winning margin was more than 25,000. "We had settled in Orissa about 150 years ago," Saluja
told PTI after attending Speaker's election in assembly.
    
While clean shaven and turban-less Singh continued his link with Punjab as his relatives were in that state, Saluja's all the family members and friends were scattered in Madhya Pradesh and other states in eastern India.