Sukhbir to blame for SAD crisis: Jakhar
LAMBI : Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar has said that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was responsible for the crisis that their party was going through. “It is because of the misdeeds of Sukhbir that his father and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is visiting villages and appealing to the public to attend their Sunday rally in Patiala. Their rally is not of the party, but only of Sukhbir as no senior SAD leader is attending it,” said Jakhar, in town to oversee preparation for the Congress rally.
He added, “It is a good sign that some Taksali leaders (the old guard) have raised their voice. The attack on the cavalcade of Sukhbir is unfortunate, but there is anger in people against the SAD as they are responsible for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. In the past, I have said that the public will not allow these Akalis to enter their villages.”
The senior leadership of the Congress including minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, chief minister’s political secretary, captain Sandeep Sandhu, and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also visited the venue. Party leaders claimed that they were making arrangements for an attendance of around 2 lakh.
Jakhar quipped that it was because of the Congress rally that the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had united a little, as they otherwise remained divided on all important issues facing the state. He added that the after the mammoth hike in the rates of petrol and diesel over the past year, the reduction of ₹2.5 excise duty was negligible.