Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday announced that his party would contest the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGMC) elections.
He appealed to the Sikh sangat to support them to “free the gurdwaras from the clutches of modern day mahants who had seized control over the gurdwara body, in connivance with the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.
Addressing a press conference here, the SAD president said the party would contest the elections on its symbol. “Our focus is on giving Sikhs in Haryana the right to have their own gurdwara committee, besides freeing them from the present committee which is indulging in free-for-all fights and abuses during official meetings, which is against all principles and norms.”
He also appealed to Sikhs in Haryana to enroll themselves as voters in large numbers so as to restore the “pride of the Panth”.
On Punjab floods
Speaking on the recent floods in the state, Sukhbir said, “The SAD is of firm belief that the recent floods in Punjab are a man-made tragedy and that chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann is responsible for the same.”
He said the CM failed to take any flood prevention meeting before the onset of the monsoons. “He also failed to regulate the release of flood waters from the Bhakra and Pong dams, resulting in large parts of Punjab being inundated. He fled to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to participate in election programmes of Aam Aadmi Party along with his boss Arvind Kejriwal. This resulted in a loss of around ₹10,000 crore and paddy crop on seven lakh acres was destroyed.”
{{/usCountry}}He said the CM failed to take any flood prevention meeting before the onset of the monsoons. “He also failed to regulate the release of flood waters from the Bhakra and Pong dams, resulting in large parts of Punjab being inundated. He fled to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to participate in election programmes of Aam Aadmi Party along with his boss Arvind Kejriwal. This resulted in a loss of around ₹10,000 crore and paddy crop on seven lakh acres was destroyed.”
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