The appearance of former Punjab MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu among the stream of visitors to the ashram of the self-styled godman Sant Rampal came as a surprise for many.A doctor-turned-politician, Sidhu is the wife of former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has served as the chief parliamentary secretary for health in the SAD-BJP government.Later, she joined the Congress and has now floated her own political outfit ‘Bharatiya Rashtrawadi Party’ (BRP).A video shared on Tuesday on the official Facebook page of Rampal’s organisation, showed Kaur seeking blessings from Rampal. The video was uploaded on Tuesday.In the brief interaction with Rampal at the ashram, she said that meeting him boosted her morale and gave her mental strength.“Mujhe to aapke paas jail aana tha, bhagwan ne suni aapko baahar bula liya. Aapse milke manobal badha hai, “which means, “I was actually supposed to come to you in jail, but God heard my prayers and brought you out instead. Meeting you has boosted my morale.”From politicians to khap leaders; sarpanches, sportspersons, government officials to IPS officers, a stream of visitors have been making their way to the ashram of the self-styled godman, who is currently residing at his ashram in Dhanana village of Sonepat district, ever since he was released from jail after nearly 11 years.Rampal walked out of the jail in Hisar on April 10. He was facing several criminal cases, including charges of murder, attempt to murder and sedition, among others.Among Haryana politicians who have visited the ashram in the recent weeks include Congress MP from Hisar Jai Prakash, Uklana MLA Naresh Selwal, BJP MLA from Nalwa Randhir Panihar, former BJP MP Jattvibeita Duggal and her husband, IPS officer Rajesh Duggal.Rampal, a Kabir Panthi preacher, first landed in controversy after making remarks against Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati during his sermons at an ashram in Karontha village of Rohtak district in 2006.Given the considerable influence of Arya Samaj in the region, his comments had triggered resentment among sections of the people, eventually leading to a violent confrontation in 2006.Ever since, Rampal had hogged controversies and even ended in a confrontation with the judiciary when he refused to appear in the high court, leading to another deadlock in 2014.A violent clash between police personnel and Rampal’s followers erupted, when the police visited his ashram to arrest him following orders of the court.In the clash, six of his followers were killed, after which he was finally arrested on November 19, 2014, from the Satlok Ashram in Barwala town of Hisar district.He was named in five FIRs related to the violence and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder cases registered under FIR numbers 429 and 430.However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently stayed the punishment in both the cases.He was also convicted in the FIRs (426 and 427) and was later acquitted. Rampal secured bail in the case registered in FIR number 428.The self-styled godman has served as a junior engineer in the irrigation department. Later on, he left the job and became a spiritual preacher in 1995.