Bir Devinder in taksali fold, says will work to strengthen Panth
MAN ON THE MOVE Says will work to usher in clean politics in Punjab, free SGPC from control of a family
JALANDHAR :Former Punjab Vidhan Sabha deputy speaker Bir Devinder Singh along with ex-convener of All India Sikh Student Federation Harinder Singh Kahlon on Tuesday joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) in what he termed as a move to “strengthen Panthic politics and fill the prevailing vacuum in Punjab politics”.
Welcoming the two into party-fold in Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, who heads the SAD breakaway faction, said the Akali Dal started collapsing when former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal blinded by his love for son (putt moh) made Sukhbir Singh Badal party president.
Bir Devinder, whose political career has been a roller-coaster in the past five decades, started as an Akali in the 1960s and then joined the Congress over a decade later. He remained with it till 2009. He returned to the Akali fold in 2009 and again joined the Congress. For a while, he worked with Manpreet Singh Badal’s People’s Party of Punjab (PPP).
He said the SAD (Taksali) will try to usher in clean politics and much-needed change in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) which is being run by one family.
“With the fall of the Badal family and the Akali Dal they are heading, a vacuum has emerged. The taksalis will try to fill this gap with Panthic politics,” he said.
Taking one jibe after another at the Badals, Brahmpura said, “After becoming president when Sukhbir along with (Bikram Singh) Majithia and others started indulging in corruption like illegal sand mining, I alerted the senior Badal but he did not bother.”
He said all limits were crossed when Badal called takht jathedars to his residence to discuss giving pardon to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case.
“We again opposed the move but Badal, eyeing the vote bank and money of the ‘saadh’ (Ram Rahim), didn’t pay any heed and secured pardon for him,” the taksali leader claimed.
He said that after the pardon, sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib took place and two protesters were killed at Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan, but no one was arrested by the Badal government.
“Police deliberately opened fire on the protesters as it was a planned event. How could an SSP (senior superintendent of police) or any police official open fire without orders from high-ups in the government?” he questioned.
“In a meeting after losing the 2017 assembly polls, I openly said Sukhbir’s style of functioning and his foolishness led to the defeat. We pleaded before Badal to save the party as people have made him CM for five times and the party was collapsing, but to no avail,” he said.
“The SAD (Taksali), Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Lok Insaaf Party of the Bains Brothers and Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi will get together to form the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) to revive panthic politics in Punjab,” he said.
In a meeting after the assembly polls, I openly said Sukhbir’s style of functioning and his foolishness led to the defeat. We pleaded before Badal to save the party , but to no avail
RANJIT SINGH BRAHMPURA ,
SAD (Taksali) president