Sukhbir Badal running politics through gangsters, says Dhaliwal

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, accusing him of openly running his politics through gangsters and pushing Punjab towards a dangerous and unacceptable trend. Dhaliwal said during the Tarn Taran byelection, Sukhbir Badal not only gave a ticket to a relative of a notorious gangster, but also fought the entire election on the strength of the gangster’s terror network.

He revealed that the gangster, acting on Sukhbir Badal’s directions, allegedly made repeated threat calls to sarpanches, influential villagers and even the AAP candidate, warning them to vote for the Akali Dal or face dire consequences. An FIR regarding these threat calls has already been registered.

Dhaliwal said Sukhbir Badal’s actions have inflicted deep wounds on Punjab’s political culture. “Forty to 50 villages were terrorised. Sarpanches were threatened. Voters were intimidated. This is not politics,” he said.

He said Punjabis, especially Sikhs, must take a serious note of this alarming development. “Akali Dal once represented Panthic values, but today Sukhbir has turned it into a gangster-driven outfit,” Dhaliwal alleged. He demanded that the Chief Minister constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to thoroughly investigate Sukhbir Badal’s alleged links with gangsters, the political use of gangster networks and the threat calls made during the Tarn Taran election. Leaders who patronise gangsters and threaten citizens must face strict legal action and be sent to jail, he said.

Dhaliwal stated that despite the atmosphere of fear, the people of Tarn Taran rejected Sukhbir Badal’s “model of terror” and elected the AAP candidate by a margin of 12,000 votes. “This victory proves that Punjabis do not bow before fear,” he added.

He warned that Sukhbir Badal is now preparing to expand this gangster model across Punjab, making a high-level investigation even more urgent. Dhaliwal appealed to the government, media and citizens to ensure such practices never enter state’s politics again. “Punjab has already suffered due to drug mafias and gangsters during previous Akali regimes. We will not let Sukhbir push the youth into another dark era,” added Dhaliwal.