On BJP plans to go solo, Sukhbir puts up brave face: ‘Hearing such speculation for 20 years’

This comes days after Akali Dal announced that it will not contest the Delhi elections. Prior to that the two parties had separately contested the Haryana assembly polls. The Akali Dal had claimed that it decided to not contest Delhi elections as BJP was asking it to shed the demand of including Muslims in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Sukhbir said his party voted for the new law in Parliament because it will allow prosecuted religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to settle down in India. But at the same time, his party wanted Muslims to be included in the CAA. “Guru Sahib chose Muslim saint Mian Mir to lay the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib because he wanted to give message of communal harmony. I had made it very clear in the Parliament that the SAD follows principles of Guru Sahib who always preached ‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ (welfare of all),” Sukhbir said.

On Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh sending him a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf (My Struggle) for voting in favour of CAA, the Ferozepur MP said, “It is ironical that a person whose ancestors used to receive cars in gifts from Hitler was sending out his autobiography. Also, one one hand, Captain receives orders from the Gandhi family, which is responsible for killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984, and on the other he is teaching us about Hitler”.

He asked whether Punjab CM did not want thousands of persecuted Sikhs, Hindus, Jains and others to get relief under the new citizenship law.

Hitting out at the Congress government for not sticking to its election promise of giving free smartphones on January 26, he said, “They will not give anything (to people). They are just giving dates. People of Punjab will send them packing after two years”.

Education minister Vijay Inder Singla had said on Sunday in Patiala that he was expecting that the free smartphones would be given to the youth before March 31.

Sukhbir alleged that drug and sand mining mafias were “proliferating” under the alleged “patronage” of Congress ministers in Punjab. “The DGP has no control over Punjab Police while lower rank officers— DSP and SHOs were working at the behest of Congress leaders. I can give you details of many cases in which Congress leader got drug suppliers released,” alleged Badal.

He said the Congress government was hiding its “failures” under the excuse of empty coffers. “We ran government under the leadership of (Parkash Singh) Badal sahib and never gave a statement of empty coffers,” said Badal, adding the state saw “unprecedented” development under their regime. “But Captain sahib is not accessible,” he said.

Sukhbir also accused suspended party leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and other splinter groups such as SAD (Taksali) of trying to weaken the SAD. “Dhindsa and the so called Taksalis are getting support from the Congress. They have only one target – to finish the Akali Dal,” he added.