Seechewal, Sahney file nominations for Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab

Noted environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal and entrepreneur and social activist Vikramjit Singh Sahney filed their nomination papers for two Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab

Noted environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal and entrepreneur and social activist Vikramjit Singh Sahney on Tuesday filed their nomination papers for two Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had declared them as its candidates a few days ago.

"Seechewal and Sahney, both Padma Shri awardees, filed their nominations with the secretary of the Punjab legislative assembly in the presence of cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal," an official said here.

The terms of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab Ambika Soni (Congress) and Balwinder Singh Bhunder (Shiromani Akali Dal) are due to expire on July 4.

Given the overwhelming majority of the AAP in the Punjab assembly, its candidates are set to be elected unopposed.

Tuesday is the last day for filing of nominations.

Scrutiny of nominations will be done on June 1, while the last date for the withdrawal of candidature is June 3.

Seechewal is known for his efforts to clean the 160-km-long Kali Bein rivulet in Kapurthala's Sultanpur Lodhi.

Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, attained enlightenment after taking a dip in Kali Bein.

Seechewal's work was also applauded by late President APJ Abdul Kalam, who visited him at his village, also named Seechewal, twice.

Known as 'Eco Baba', he was hailed as one of the top 30 'Heroes of the Environment' in the world by Time magazine.

Vikramjit Singh Sahney is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist. He is the international president of the World Punjabi Organisation, which is aimed at fostering social, economic and cultural bondage and is functional in 22 countries.

Sahney had helped in evacuating 500 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs by sending three chartered flights at his own expense to Kabul in Afghanistan.

He had also coordinated with various ministries like External Affairs for immediate evacuation of Afghan Sikh and Hindu families stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over control.

The AAP in March had nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, AAP leader Raghav Chadha, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, former IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for Rajya Sabha and they were elected unopposed.