NEW YORK (TIP): Former President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee H.S. Hanspal, who was instrumental in getting the historic decision taken on inscribing of milestones in Punjabi along with English and Hindi in the state of Haryana, amongst various other significant changes that he brought about during his term, was feted by the Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC, USA) here on Saturday June 27, 2015. Around  fifty Congress supporters and friends gathered at a short notice to honor the visiting dignitary.

General Secretary of INOC, USA, Harbachan Singh in welcoming Hanspal recalled some of the significant achievements of the latter who has had a long association with the Congress Party in various capacities. He was  applauded for his invaluable services. Harbachan Singh requested him to continue to provide his sagacious  leadership to the party at this critical juncture.

The President of the Punjab Chapter Tejinder Singh Gill thanked Hanspal for accepting the invitation and pleaded for the rapid resolution of some of the ills, including drug addiction and alcoholism that were holding back the rapid development of Punjab and asked for  an effective link between NRIs and the Punjab Congress party to work jointly.

The Chairman of INOC George Abraham and the President of INOC  Juned Qazi both spoke at length on the steadfastness and the solid strength of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA and pointedly elaborated on the esteemed value and unwavering support of each of the senior officials of the party apparatus in New York. They also recounted some of the significant achievements of INOC, USA over the recent past.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Senior Vice President Mohinder Singh Gilzian, John Joseph, President of the Tamil Nadu Chapter and Zinda Singh, President of the Delhi Chapter and  Prasad Kambhampathy.

H.S. Hanspal was highly impressed at the unity and deep commitment of the
INOC,USA and its officials. In his brief inspirational speech, he said that when the chips are down, you have shown political maturity to not lose hope but instead have inspired others here and in India to remain strong. He said he will take back this very encouraging and comforting fact to apprise the senior officials back home. He said: “You not only have a very important role to play in the development of better relations between India and USA but also help in various ways the motherland and her development”. He praised the hardworking NRIs and the contribution they were making and regretted that not enough attention has been paid to them by New Delhi. He informed the audience that his doors were always open in New Delhi and welcomed everyone to visit him when they were visiting home.