Blow to SAD as senior leaders join Congress

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, Janaury 14

In a major blow to the Shiromani Akali Dal, its leaders Chamkaur Mann, senior vice-president, Bathinda district, Bhupinder Singh Bhullar, former municipal council president and Pirthipal Singh Jalal, along with their supporters, today joined the Congress in the presence of Gurdas Badal and Manpreet Badal at the residence of Pirthipal Singh Jalal.

While addressing a gathering, Pirthipal Singh Jalal said he was with SAD since 1962. He said he had even remained in jail.

“Veteran leaders had been ignored by SAD for the last five years. We are feeling suffocated due to which we have decided to join the Congress,” he added.

He also appealed to the people to vote and support Manpreet so that if Congress formed the government then Manpreet Badal would be the deputy chief minister.

Chamkaur Mann and Bhupinder Singh Bhullar claimed that Sarup Chand Singla was surrounded by four-five aides and because of them SAD had lost ground in the city.

They said for their personal gain, these aides had sidelined veteran SAD leaders in the city.

Mann said in the coming days, 500 families in the trans-railway line area, previously supporting SAD, would join the Congress.

The first case of infighting in sad surfaced when Sarup Chand Singla and SAD city president Sudhir Bansal released a list of new office-bearers of the Bathinda unit on September 16, 2015.

In the list, SAD Canal circle president Chamkaur Mann was made the vice-president of the city unit.

As Nirmal Singh Sandhu was made the Canal circle president in his place, a large numbers of SAD office-bearers from five wards lodged a protest over this and tendered their resignations.

Chamkaur had even announced not to accept the new responsibility assigned to him by the party.

At that time, they held a meeting in which they announced to boycott Sarup Chand Singla and submit their resignations.

In a joint statement issued by them, they had alleged that all senior posts were being given to businessman, rich, Congressmen and non-SAD workers.

They also alleged that CPS Sarup Chand Singla was directly responsible this situation.

They had appealed to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to rein in the situation or the party would have to face huge loss in the upcoming 2017 Assembly elections.

Later, things were resolved as Sarup Chand Singla held a meeting with Chamkaur Mann and appointed him district SAD senior vice-president.