Conspiracy to break SAD: Sukhbir camp

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) district presidents and halqa in-charges on Tuesday said the BJP and government-sponsored agencies were conspiring to divide and weaken the Sikh Panth and its sole representative party, the SAD

Chandigarh : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) district presidents and halqa in-charges on Tuesday said the BJP and government-sponsored agencies were conspiring to divide and weaken the Sikh Panth and its sole representative party, the SAD.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) district presidents and halqa in-charges on Tuesday said the BJP and government-sponsored agencies were conspiring to divide and weaken the Sikh Panth and its sole representative party, the SAD.

In resolutions passed in Chandigarh on Tuesday, SAD district presidents and halqa in-charges alleged that the BJP and govt-agencies “were behind attempts to weaken or break the SAD. But these will not be allowed to succeed”.

The resolutions placed on record the party’s whole-hearted support and faith in the leadership of the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The resolutions were passed after a section of senior SAD leaders met in Jalandhar earlier in the day and demanded change in the party leadership.

As many as 33 out of the existing 35 district in-charges and 96 out of the total 105 halqa (constituency) in-charges of the party lauded the leadership of Sukhbir.

Of these 33 district presidents, 28 attended the meeting while five who couldn’t attend had informed the party of their support to the president in writing.

At both the meetings, the members expressed serious concern over “the deep-rooted conspiracies by the BJP, which is using the central agencies to render the Sikhs leaderless in order to weaken and break the SAD, with view to take control of Sikh political and religious affairs.

The resolutions lauded the stand taken by Sukhbir in refusing to have an alliance with any political party at the cost of Panthic principles and the interests of Punjab and Punjabis.

Members strongly urged the party president to take “strict disciplinary action against those who are “acting as agents of the enemies of the party, Panth and Punjab and trying to create dissensions and misunderstandings among the sangat about the party’s Panthic agenda.

Talking about allegation of “uncertainty and confusion about an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha poll”, Sukhbir said: “This confusion existed only for those who were keen to have an alliance with the BJP even at the cost of principles and the interests of the of the Khalsa Panth and Punjab. I had categorically clarified to core committee before the Lok Sabha polls that I can’t be a party to an unprincipled alliance with the BJP. As president of a party that the community has always called its own, I couldn’t have betrayed the Panth, the farmers and the poor and deprived section,” said Sukhbir.

The chief of party’s Delhi unit Paramjit Singh Sarna said the BJP-sponsored “Operation Lotus” aimed at the SAD will fail.