The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Sunday welcomed Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) move to nominate Arun Jaitley from Amritsar constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Majithia said: "A welcome and much-needed step has been taken by the party. Personally, I feel we needed a person who can advocate the cause of the holy city, whether, it is in respect of improving the conditions of border farmers or the industry here and even taking forward relation in respect to Pakistan.
"Jaitley has been in the Parliament for a very long time. Whatever he says will be considered as a government decision as he is one of the top five leaders from the BJP in present times. If the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forms a government at the Centre, which would happen in all likelihood, then this will be a positive decision favouring Amritsar, the revenue minister said.
"Navjot Singh Sidhu became MP because he received wholehearted support from the SAD in the last general elections. Whosoever the BJP decides to put up as a candidate from Amritsar, the SAD will lend its support as we are in an alliance with the BJP. We have supported them (BJP) in the past and we will continue to do so in the future. Personally I have no differences with Sidhu as he is my elder brother and I am fond of him," Majithia said.
{{/usCountry}}"Navjot Singh Sidhu became MP because he received wholehearted support from the SAD in the last general elections. Whosoever the BJP decides to put up as a candidate from Amritsar, the SAD will lend its support as we are in an alliance with the BJP. We have supported them (BJP) in the past and we will continue to do so in the future. Personally I have no differences with Sidhu as he is my elder brother and I am fond of him," Majithia said.
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday, the BJP in its Central Election Committee meeting which was finalising the list of candidates for the upcoming elections apparently told Sidhu that he would not be fielded again from the high-profile constituency of Punjab and was given a choice of three other seats - Delhi, Chandigarh and Kurukshetra. Sidhu remained firm in his stand of contesting the elections from Amritsar and ruling out his luck from elsewhere.