SAD loses key Dalit face as ex-speaker Atwal quits party
CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR: A day after his son, Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, 50, filed his nomination papers as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection, Charanjit Singh Atwal, 86, who is a former speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, resigned from the primary membership of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Charanjit was the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004-2009 and speaker of the Punjab assembly twice. He unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Jalandhar against Santokh Singh Chaudhary of the Congress.
Charanjit, who was once a close aide of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, said he quit the SAD on moral grounds after his son and other family members joined the BJP.
The veteran leader said he could no longer continue in the SAD with which he remained associated for nearly 60 years, but refused to talk in length.
Charanjit’s exit has left the SAD without a key Dalit face, who went up to the level of becoming deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha. He had, however, later developed differences with the present Akali leaders.
In the closed-door meetings, he used to question the party’s top dispensation in dealing with certain issues that led to its downfall.
Charanjit, who comes from the Balmiki community, was born in Montgomery, now in Pakistan, and had migrated to Ludhiana during the Partition. He became an MLA for the first time in 1977 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1985, 1997 and 2004. In 2012, he again contested the state assembly elections successfully and became speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
With his departure, Charanjit joins the list of senior leaders who have left the SAD, including former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, former Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son, besides former DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK.
The Dhindsas have formed a breakaway faction, SAD (Sanyukt), which had been supporting the BJP from outside since state elections in 2022. They have now announced to lend support to Charanjit’s son.
According to Dhindsa Senior, Charanjit’s exit was waiting to happen as he was unhappy with the party’s functioning and used to openly oppose the top Akali leadership that had taken over after Parkash Singh Badal.
“He may have slowed down politically because of his age, but he is a seasoned leader who used to represent a strong section of the society and his contribution to the party can’t be denied,” Dhindsa said.
‘Charanjit left when the party needed him’
SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said, “The BJP has given ticket to Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal only because of his father Charanjit and it would have been inappropriate, both politically and morally, for him to stick to the Akali Dal while other members of his family have joined an opposition party.”
He said the SAD and the panth had taken Charanjit to the top echelons of power and when the party needed him, he opted to quit.