Punjab: ‘Power hungry’ SAD desperate to tie up with BJP, says Mann

Addressing a ‘Lok Milni’ gathering at Chawinda Devi in Majitha constituency of Amritsar, Mann said Punjabis would never forgive the BJP-SAD combine for “pushing the state into the drug menace,” and would send both parties into political oblivion

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday alleged that the Shiromani Akali Dal was desperate to return to power and was seeking an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to achieve this goal.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, Mann said the party had no vision for Punjab or its people. (HT File)

Addressing a ‘Lok Milni’ gathering at Chawinda Devi in Majitha constituency of Amritsar, Mann said Punjabis would never forgive the BJP-SAD combine for “pushing the state into the drug menace,” and would send both parties into political oblivion.

“The Akali leadership is desperate to return to power in the state. For this purpose, they are seeking to join hands with the BJP again to plunder the state, but the wise people of Punjab will once again oust them,” Mann said.

The chief minister’s remarks came amid renewed speculation over a possible tie-up between the two parties ahead of the 2027 assembly polls, after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 7. This was Sukhbir’s first meeting with Modi since the SAD and BJP snapped ties over the three controversial farm laws in 2020, ending their 23-year-old alliance that began in 1997.

Mann also hit out at the SAD over the sacrilege issue and highlighted his government’s record, saying it had provided 70,000 government jobs solely on merit.

“Government schools had been transformed to such an extent that students were now qualifying for the JEE and NEET examinations. After assuming office in 2022, our government focused on the holistic development of Punjab and initiated reforms in power, sports, education, health and other key sectors,” he said.

Accompanied by Majitha AAP halqa in-charge Talbir Singh Gill, who organised the event, Mann said that after more than four years in office, his government had fulfilled every promise and delivered every guarantee made to the people.

He said the people of Majitha were now ready to write a new political chapter, contrasting the politics of “FIRs, hooliganism and fear” under previous regimes with his government’s focus on jobs, schools, hospitals, roads and development.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, Mann said the party had no vision for Punjab or its people. “The Congress is a divided house and will collapse because of its infighting,” he said. Mann also announced a grant of ₹58 lakh for the development of the area.