Former MLA Makkar cornered by Akali leadership

Jalandhar, March 15

Following a spat with former MLA Sarabjit Makkar ahead of the workers’ meet, almost all senior SAD leaders from the Jalandhar Cantonment constituency have decided to keep away from the event tomorrow, which is to be presided over by party chief Sukhbir Badal.

Party leaders from the Assembly segment, including former chairmen, Jalandhar Improvement Trust, Baljit Singh Neelamahal and Paramjit Singh Raipur, former senior deputy mayor Kamaljit Bhatia and HS Walia have chosen to attend the Vishwasghat (betrayal) rally, to be taken out by the SAD in the city and not attend the workers’ meet tomorrow.

While SAD spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema had yesterday announced to cancel the workers’ meet, it is learnt that the cancellation has been revoked on the insistence of Phagwara BJP MLA Som Parkash, who too is slated to host a workers’ meet in the afternoon tomorrow.

The party leaders who have taken a stand against Makkar had reportedly gone to Ludhiana today to meet their party chief Sukhbir Badal again on the issue but the meeting could not happen. Hence, the leaders instead, were told to meet their observer Mahesh Inder S Grewal and express their grouse to him. The party leaders returned, planning to meet Sukhbir at Radisson Hotel here, where he is scheduled to stay put tonight but that too could not be possible as he reportedly arrived late.

Neelamahal said: “We will now talk on the matter after May 23, the Lok Sabha results day.”

Raipur already has been at loggerheads with Makkar over a property dispute. Former SAD district chief Gurcharan S Channi too has been keeping away from party activities for the past two years ever since Makkar got the ticket from the Jalandhar Cantonment seat.

Makkar had yesterday reportedly told other party leaders that they had no role in workers’ meet of the Cantonment and could not be present there.

Makkar held a press conference today to inform that the meet would be held as per schedule. He alleged that Walia had been spreading misinformation about cancellation of the meet, which the latter too clarified using social media. Walia had contested from the Cantonment seat in 2017 on the AAP ticket but later joined the SAD. Neelamahal, Raipur and Channi had been claimants to the Akali ticket for the Cantonment seat in 2017. — TNS