CHANDIGARH, JAN 3: The All-India Shiromani Akali Dal has demanded a constitutional amendment to introduce reservation for minorities in all states in both the parliamentary and Assembly seats. A resolution to this effect was passed by the party on the occasion of a rally, organised by the Haryana unit of the party at Assandh near Karnal on Sunday.The party also made an appeal to all factions of Akalis to forge a common platform for contesting the forthcoming elections to the Assembly. Former Member of Parliament Prem Singh Chandumajra on Sunday said the party had demanded that every state should give representation to at least one member of every minority community in its Assembly, as many communities are going unrepresented.The party also passed a resolution authorising party president Gurcharan Singh Tohra and vested with him all powers to form an electoral alliance with other parties. The rally was Attended among others by Ved Pal, president of Haryana unit of Nationalist Congress Party, Jagir Singh,vice-president of state unit of Samajwadi Party and Rakesh Kumar, president of Shiv Sena, according to a party spokesman.Gurcharan Singh Tohra appealed to all Akali factions to unite at least in Haryana, even if they could not join each other in Punjab. While citing the instance of Udham Singh Nagar, Tohra castigated the Shiromani Akali Dal Government that failed to protect the interests of Sikhs and Punjabis living outside Punjab.Chandumajra alleged that the territorial disputes between Punjab and Haryana were the creation of the Congress party and added they could be sorted out by relying on tradition, convention and within the framework of the Constitution.
