Chandigarh: Putting to rest rumours about the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) being invited to the united Opposition alliance bloc, INDIA, meeting in Mumbai Thursday, the party’s general secretary, Daljit Singh Cheema, said Wednesday that neither the Akali Dal had been invited for any such meeting, nor did the party intend to join the Opposition alliance.
Talking to ThePrint Cheema said that the rumours started doing the rounds of the media after a statement made by senior SAD leader and former Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder, was quoted out of context.
Bhunder was quoted by some media channels as saying Monday that some prominent leaders of the INDIA alliance were old associates and friends of senior SAD leaders and were keen on the Akalis joining the Opposition alliance.
“Bhunder went on to say that despite the fact that several senior leaders of the INDIA alliance had good personal relations with senior Akali leaders there is no question of the Akalis joining the alliance because both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were a part of the alliance. The denial part of his statement was ignored by some media channels leading to the rumours,” said Cheema.
SAD is a rival of both parties in Punjab, where AAP is currently in power.
News reports cited sources as saying that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had extended an invitation to the Shiromani Akali Dal to be a part of the INDIA bloc.
“There is no doubt that many prominent leaders of the INDIA alliance have cordial relations with the Akali leaders, but there is no invitation for the Mumbai meet and even if there had been one we would not have joined it. There is no question of our joining hands with the Congress or the AAP,” said Cheema.
Responding to the rumours, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring too put up a social media post Wednesday rejecting the possibility of SAD being part of the Opposition alliance.
“We will never tie up with the Akalis. The Akalis are spreading these rumours because they want to increase their stock before the BJP. The Akali have lost their identity and are trying to gain a political foothold using the INDIA alliance name,” said Warring.
ਅਸੀਂ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਨਾਲ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਗਠਜੋੜ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰ ਸਕਦੇ ਉਹ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਜਨਤਾ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਦੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੁੱਲ ਵਧਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਝੂਠੀਆਂ ਖਬਰਾਂ ਫੈਲਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ। ਆਪਣਾ ਵਜੂਦ ਗਵਾ ਚੁੱਕਾ @Akali_Dal_ ਹੁਣ I.N.D.I.A ਗਠਜੋੜ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਵਰਤ ਕੇ ਸਿਆਸੀ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ਤਲਾਸ਼ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ।
— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) August 30, 2023
Ridiculing Warring’s reaction, Cheema said that it was Warring who had lost his identity in his party.
“Nobody listens to Warring. Not even his own party members. State leaders of the Congress have been begging the Delhi high command not to tie up with the AAP but they don’t care two hoots about Punjab’s leaders. Also while he has so quickly objected to a tie-up with the Akali Dal does that mean he is now fine with tying up with the Aam Aadmi Party?” asked Cheema.
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Friends & foes for 2024
Rumours regarding the Akali Dal joining the INDIA bloc come amid talks of the possibility of the Akalis going back to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to revive their decades-old alliance.
The Akali Dal had stepped out of the alliance in 2020 during the farmers’ agitation against the three now-repealed controversial farm laws brought in by BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. (tweaked a bit, please see if okay) For the 2022 assembly elections in Punjab, while the BJP had tied up with breakaway groups of the Congress and the Akali Dal, the Akalis had stitched an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Neither managed to win the elections.
On Wednesday, BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati cleared her party’s position on alliances for the 2024 general elections through a series of tweets. She said that her party will not be a part of either the NDA or the INDIA bloc.
1. एनडीए व इण्डिया गठबंधन अधिकतर गरीब-विरोधी जातिवादी, साम्प्रदायिक, धन्नासेठ-समर्थक व पूंजीवादी नीतियों वाली पार्टियाँ हैं जिनकी नीतियों के विरुद्ध बीएसपी अनवरत संघर्षरत है और इसीलिए इनसे गठबंधन करके चुनाव लड़ने का सवाल ही पैदा नहीं होता। अतः मीडिया से अपील-नो फेक न्यूज प्लीज़।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 30, 2023
BSP State president Jasbir Singh Garhi, meanwhile, has told the media that although the party will not tie up with either the NDA or the INDIA alliance, their bond with the Akalis in Punjab will continue for the parliamentary elections.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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