E-Paper
After poll rout: Don’t drag SAD into controversy at crucial juncture, Ghumman tells Ayali
In a press statement issued on Monday, Ghumman said that he had no idea why Ayali was making such statements and it was “very unfortunate”
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) vice-president Parupkar Singh Ghumman on Tuesday accused legislature party leader Manpreet Singh Ayali of adopting “double standards”, and said that the latter should not “drag the party into any controversy” at this crucial juncture.
After the debacle in Lok Sabha polls, where the SAD could only secure a win on only one of the state’s 13 seats and 10 of its candidates had to forfeit their security deposit, Ayali had announced to distance from party activities and called for a change in leadership and implementation of Jhundan panel recommendations.
“I’m distancing myself from party activities till the implementation of the Iqbal Singh Jhundan Committee recommendations, including change of leadership. If the party doesn’t implement the recommendations, I’d prefer to sit at home,” Ayali posted on social media on June 7.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Ghumman said that he had no idea why Ayali was making such statements and it was “very unfortunate”.
“It is quite astonishing and I don’t understand whether Ayali was elected as an Independent or as a SAD candidate. He gave the same statement in the past, but before parliamentary elections, he visited SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal repeatedly to seek a ticket for Ranjit Singh Dhillon, claiming that he would ensure at least 50,000 votes from the Dakha assembly segment. He did not affix pictures of Sukhbir Badal on Dhillon’s campaign posters,” said Ghumman.
“The votes cast in favour of Dhillon from his constituency show how many people like Ayali as an individual. The absence of a picture of Sukhbir and the party symbol proved fatal and Dhillon could not get votes. Dakha is a Panthic constituency and people voted for SAD candidates in the 2022 assembly elections, and not for Ayali in a personal capacity,” he added.
He added that SAD had flourished under the leadership of Sukhbir Singh Badal, who did not compromise on the ethics and dignity of Punjab and Punjabis. On one hand, Ayali has started condemning his work, but on the other, he has been approaching the same president to seek a ticket for Dhillon.
Ayali had also skipped meeting Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was in Ludhiana on June 8 to meet party workers.
Ayali had said that the SAD had performed poorly in the Lok Sabha elections because the leadership had ignored the Jhundan panel recommendations. Former SAD MLA Jhundan, who led a 13-member committee to suggest a course correction after the party faced a crushing defeat in the 2022 assembly elections, had recommended bringing “accepted faces” in the party leadership.
