Ready to step down if party wants me to, says Sukhbir
Amid a virtual revolt by a section of Taksali leaders (old guard), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday said he was ready to quit his post if the party wants so.
“The SAD has given me an opportunity to serve. If they will say you leave and let someone else take over, I am ready,” Sukhbir told reporters here.
Sukhbir’s statement comes after former MP Rattan Singh Ajnala, who while talking to a news channel on Saturday, directly hit out at Sukhbir and his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia. “People have started disliking the SAD as Sukhbir and Bikram are dictating their terms without consulting anyone,” Ajnala had said.
The first signs of trouble for the SAD came to the fore when several Taksali leaders expressed discontent over the party’s functioning after the Ranjit Singh panel report, which looked into sacrilege cases and the subsequent police action, was made public two months back.
The first blow came in form of Akali Rajya Sabha MP and secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s resignation from party posts on September 30. A day after, Ajnala, Khadoor Sahib MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and former minister and SGPC member Sewa Singh Sekhwan too raised a banner of revolt saying “all was not well within the party.” Subsequently, Brahmpura quit all party posts on October 23.
When asked if his leadership was being challenged by a section of Taksali leaders from Majha region, Sukhbir said: “I have said it on every stage that SAD is no one’s personal fiefdom. No individual is bigger than the party.”
Sukhbir, in a bid to quell rebellious voices, said all veteran Akali leaders were his elders and he respects them. “Ajnala has made a big contribution for party and dedicated his entire life to it. I keep seeking guidance from him. He is my elder,” said Sukhbir, adding that all Taksali leaders were “like our family members”.
The SAD chief also visited dissident SAD leader Bhai Manjit Singh at his residence along with Majitha.
Sekhwan welcomed Sukhbir’s statement that he was ready to quit if party so wished.
Brahmpura, however, said he feels Sukhbir would not quit his post. “Had he wanted to quit, he would have done so after the party faced unprecedented and humiliating debacle in the last assembly elections. Had our voices been heard, the party would not have faced disgrace in public”, he said.
IN A BID TO QUELL REBELLIOUS VOICES, HE SAID ALL VETERAN AKALI LEADERS WERE HIS ELDERS AND HE RESPECTS THEM