Asking questions her husband once raised, Jhota’s wife steps in

Manpreet Kaur, the wife of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, is at the forefront of a protest on the Mansa-Sirsa Highway. Despite her recent loss of husband, she has handled herself with poise and has been vocal in her statements. After some media outlets mistakenly quoted her father-in-law, Bhim Singh, she has chosen to speak only on behalf of the Action Committee formed for the protest.

During a speech on Tuesday, Bhim Singh referred to Manpreet as "my Jhota" and mentioned that she would make all the decisions regarding the protest. Hailing from a lineage of activists, Parvinder Singh Jhota was a prominent anti-drug crusader and Bhim Singh is an ex-serviceman and veteran campaigner.

A private school teacher and mother of two sons, Manpreet had never addressed a crowd or negotiated with government authorities until now. Recognised by the public, she wears a keski - a turban worn by Sikh women. Before arriving at the protest site, approximately four kilometres from her residence, she met with visitors and accompanied her sons.

After reaching the protest site, she sat among women taking a stand on the ground. She was later approached by someone who offered her food, and she partook in langar that has been operating continuously since the protest began. Manpreet spoke briefly with The Indian Express and later received a call from a CBI team requesting her attendance at a meeting.

She spent the following day in a marathon meeting of the Action Committee, which she chaired, and a video was released showcasing her declaration that no postmortem would be allowed until certain demands, including the resignation of the Punjab Chief Minister and the Punjab DGP, were met. In the video, she reiterated her questions, echoing those her husband once posed, about young men lost to drugs and the need to boycott drug sellers in villages.

Her speech on Wednesday went viral, wherein she questioned the local authorities about the incident of a young man who lost his life to a heroin overdose. Manpreet, while speaking to The Indian Express, expressed that her family's courage stems from God, and she attributed their composure to divine intervention.