SANGRUR: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said Panthic ideals and principles were paramount for him and that he would never compromise on the prestige of the Panth for power.
The SAD President was addressing a mammoth party conference to mark the 40th death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal at the latter’s native village in Longowal which witnessed an unprecedented attendance unparalleled in the last forty years.
Paying rich tributes to the Sant who was martyred in the service of the Panth, Mr Sukhbir Badal said the prestige of the Panth and Punjab had always been most important for him. He said he had made this clear to leaders like Prem Singh Chandumjra, Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Surjit Singh Rakhra. “These leaders wanted to force me into compromises so that they could become MPs and ministers but I told them that resolving the issues of the ‘quom’ and Punjab were most important for me and unless these matters were addressed I would never agree to their requests”.
The SAD president made it clear that he would lead the fight to secure the rights of Punjab from the front and would never bow down to the centre. Asserting that he needed the people who had come in lakhs to today’s conference and not the leaders who had left the party for their own self interests, Mr Badal said “I will take up all the pending issues of the Panth and Punjab before the people in the next one and a half years. I appeal to you to support me in this endeavour to ensure a better future for our coming generations”.
Speaking about the opportunists who would approach them in the name of representing the Panth, Mr Badal said “A Nawan Chulha Dal” has been established in the State which is getting cooking gas free of cost from the centre to divide Punjabis”. He said similarly a self proclaimed leader who had come from Dubai and donned the ‘bana’ of a Sikh and whose own family members were drug addicts had deceived Punjabis into voting for him in the last parliamentary elections. Urging people to beware of such forces, Mr Badal said “I request you with folded hands to save Punjab by uniting under the leadership of the SAD which has a track record of not only safeguarding the interests of the State but also ensuring speedy development on all fronts during its stints in governance”.
The SAD president also led a blistering attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann asserting he had not only failed as a chief minister but also as a leader from this district. He said the chief minister had not found the time to even visit this district and address the grievances of its people. “Tell me if Bhagwant Mann has established even one road, school or irrigation canal in this district”, he asserted adding even promises like establishing a medical college at Mastuana Sahib had remained a pipe dream. He also highlighted how Mann has become a mere figurehead with Arvind Kejriwal assuming all powers in Punjab and even taking up residence in the New Sheesh Mahal at Mohali. He said similarly Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, who had also shifted to Chandigarh, had taken control of all the ministries. He also slammed the AAP government from going back on all promises made to the people besides reminding them that the SAD had always kept its promises and made power surplus, instituted old age pension and Shagun scheme besides creating expressways crisscrossing the entire State.