SAD core committee meet: Party to draw up strategy for panchayat, SGPC polls

According to the party, the committee will discuss “irregularities” in panchayat elections, the crisis of procurement of paddy and the current political situation in the state as well as the country.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar has called a meeting of the party’s core committee on Sunday to draw out a strategy for upcoming panchayat polls scheduled for October 15 and for the elections of office bearers of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on October 28.

The announcement of a meeting was made by party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema.

This will be the first meeting to be chaired by Bhundar ever since he was made the working president on August 29.

“The party is worried over the delay by the Akal Takht on pronouncing punishment to the party president. Six weeks have passed since he was declared tankhaiya (guilty of committing religious misconduct),” said a party’s senior leader on the request of anonymity.

The announcement of a meeting was made by party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema. Posting a message on microblogging site X, Cheema said: “SAD working president S Balwinder Singh Bhundar has convened an important meeting of Core Committee of the party on October 13 at 1200 hours at party head office in Chandigarh, (sic)” reads the message.

The committee will discuss irregularities in panchayat elections, the crisis of procurement of paddy and the current political situation in the state as well as the country, it added.

“All issues concerning the state and our party will be discussed. The government machinery and Aam Aadmi party’s leaders and elected representatives, indulging in malpractices in panchayat polls, difficulties faced by farmers in selling their kharif produce are also on the agenda,” Bhundar said.

The party cadres have already raised a tirade against the alleged malpractices in the filing of nomination for the panchayat elections submitting a series of petitions in Punjab and Haryana high court, after which the court has stayed polls in at least 200 village panchayats.

“This is for the first time in the history of Punjab that apparent excesses were committed by the election machinery that the polls were stayed. More petitions were filed today and a decision from the HC is expected on Monday. But the party have decided to take the fight to the streets in case the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tries any foul play,” Grewal said.

He added that the party also sees it as an opportune time to side with the farmers, who are facing difficulties in selling their freshly harvested paddy produce. “Procurement started on October 1, the arrivals are not picking pace,” SAD leader Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal said.

He adds that after arhtiyas, rice millers and labourers strike, now there is an issue wherein the hybrid paddy varieties such as PR 126 paddy are getting different rates as it is being suggested that these crops don’t give 66% of rice as per the procurement norms.