SAD rebels team up to adopt Panthic Agenda and give up the 'Moga declaration'
By SATINDER BAINS
CHANDIGARH: While Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is facing major ideological crisis and Panthic politics is dominating the party's affairs, two prominant Hindu Akali leaders have resigned from the primary membership of party. The resignations came after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal submitted his resignation from post of party president.
The Hindu leaders former MLA N.K.Sharma and former minister Anil Joshi had resigned from their respective posts in the party and also given up primary membership of Akali Dal. They both are considered close to Sukhbir Badal. While N.K.Sharma a long time aide of Badal was Cashier of the party, Joshi who defected from BJP to join SAD. He is a prominant Hindu face in border district of Amritsar. He was holding post of general secretary of SAD.
Joshi had told reporters that he had decided to resign beacause he would not fit in the 'Panthic Agenda' of the SAD. He said that SAD had got trapped in Panthic politics. The Hindu leaders including Anil and N.K.Sharma had joined the party following SAD's decision to oepn the party memebrship for non-Sikhs and project the secular face to repersent all the Punjabis. N.K.Sharma also found him unfit in the party in three absence of Sukhbir Badal. He said that religious interference in the party's affairs is not good omen. Another Badal loyalist Sikh leaders three time MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu had also resigned from the party citing personal reasons.
NK SHARMA
The development is significant and an indication that SAD leadership is under pressure from community leaders to return to 'Panthic Agenda' which was the orginal mandate of the party. The rebel group in SAD also called 'Sudhar Lehar', comprising senior Akali leaders Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Grpartap Singh Wadala and Prem Singh Chandumajra are targeting Sukhbir Badal for party's poor performance in last assembly and Lok Sabha elections and wanted SAD to return to 'Panthic agenda' to save the party.
In the year 1996, the Akali Dal at Moga conference announced its ideological transformation into a party of all Punjabis, regardless of their religion or geography, known as Moga declaration. In his address at Moga, party president late Prakash Singh Badal declared that Akali Dal stood for ‘Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat’. The SAD also faced flak from the Sikh clergy and a section of the party for abandoning the Panthic agenda. The SAD understood to have taken the Thedecision to abandon the Panthic agenda to widen its reach and make it compatible to sign political alliance with BJP.
The SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal in 1996 announced an unconditional alliance with BJP in Punjab. It was purely a political alliance even as both parties had different ideologies. The SAD-BJP ruled Punjab for about 15 years.
SAD and BJP parted ways in September 2020 due to diferences over three controversial agriculture bills. The SAD was under pressure to leave the BJP due to political compulsions. The farmer's had launched the agitation and SAD feared erosion of its base in rural Punjab, if continued alliance with BJP.
Parkash Singh Badal handed over the command of party to his son Sukhbir Singh Badal which triggered rebellion in the party and several senior leaders including Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Ujagar Singh Badali faced rebellion by dozens of senior party leaders. They demanded to replace Sukhbir Badal but Badal family sticked to the decision.
The Sikh clergy had declared Sukhbir Badal 'Tankhayia' (Guilty of religious misconduct) by the Sikh clergy on the complaint of Sudhar Lehar leaders. The rebel leaders blamed Sukhbir Badal for downfall of SAD due to mistakes committed by Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal when they were in power. As long as Parkash Singh Badal was alive, Sukhbir Badal survived the rebellion but after death of his father, the rebellion split the party.
Sukhbir Badal has resigned from his post but the party executive is not in mood to accept his resignation. The Sikh leadership is of the view that Sukhbir Badal must resign from his post on moral grounds and appear before Akal Takhat as a humble Sikh.