Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday termed Waris Punjab de (WPD), an outfit led by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, a ‘virus’ allegedly created to split the Sikh vote and weaken his party.
The outfit has already announced seven candidates for the state polls, including Amritpal’s key aides Papalpreet Singh and Daljit Singh Kalsi, as well as Satwant Singh—son of Kehar Singh, who was executed for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“Just like the Covid virus threatened the destruction of the world, the Waris Punjab De virus is programmed to create infighting in the Sikh community and weaken the SAD,” he said.
“These are the same persons who used to be on AAP stages five years back. The SAD chief also took a swipe at the AAP government, alleging that chief minister Bhagwant Mann has failed to deliver on promises made to the people of Punjab. “Giani Harpreet Singh may say whatever he wishes, but our stand is very clear. We will speak up when the appropriate time comes, and not before there is anything concrete.
This is the reason why chief minister Bhagwant Mann deputed government buses for their rally on Rakhar Punia,” Sukhbir alleged, urging Punjabis to beware of “traitors” who were trying to influence them while projecting themselves as devout Sikhs. Cheema’s comments came a day after SAD (Punar Surjit) president Giani Harpreet Singh said his party was willing to explore an understanding with jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s Waris Punjab De and other Panthic forces, while ruling out any alliance with the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD. He also said that SAD (Punar Surjit) was also willing to explore a tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Right now, SAD (Punar Surjit) seems to want to enter into a political alliance with everyone under the sun,” Cheema said.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Sunday said the party did not believe in making wild conjectures about possible alliances based on speculation and would rather work hard to connect with the people of Punjab.
