SAD to commemorate Sthapana Divas on Dece 14 to Akal Takth as well as across State.

-Condemns clean chit given to Navjot Sidhu in Amritsar train tragedy case

Chandigarh, December 6 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will commemorate the ‘sthapana divas’ of the party on December 14 at Sri Akal Takth as well as across the State even as it decided to take part in the State wide ‘nagar kirtan’ which will be organized by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to mark the 550th Parkashpurb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji.

These decisions were taken at a meeting of the core committee presided over by party president Sulkhbir Singh Badal here. The core committee also condemned the clean chit given to the family of Local Bodies minister Navjot Sidhu in the Amritsar train tragedy case besides demanding sugarcane growers dues be settled with interest and immediate release of DA allowance to government employees.

It also welcomed the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build the Kartarpur Corridor saying it was a moment of collective achievement for the entire Khalsa Panth and a moment of glory for the entire devout Nanak Naam Leva community. It appealed to all political, religious and social organizations and individuals to celebrate the achievement jointly in all humility as an hour of thanksgiving, rising above all kinds of sectarian, ideological or political differences. “This achievement was made possible, above all, by the grace of the Almighty and the Great Guru Sahiban as a response to the humble and devout daily Ardas (prayer) of each and every member of the Sikh community,” said a resolution passed at the Core Committee.

The core committee meeting decided to commemorate the party’s ‘Sthapana divas’ at Sri Akal Takth during the course of which it will honour old workers who have made sacrifices for the party. The party rank and file will also observe the ‘sthapana divas’ in each constituency in the State by commencing Akhand Path in one gurdwara in each constituency of the State. Besides this the party will participate in the Nagar Kirtan along with the relics of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji to be organized by SGPC. The Nagar Kirtan will start simultaneously from all the three Takths in Punjab and will culminate at Sultanpur Lodhi within a time span of three months.

The core committee also condemned the clean chit given to Local Bodies minister Navjot Sidhu and his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu in the Amritsar train tragedy case, saying the guilty were being shielded by the Congress government. Mr Sukhbir Badal noted that the inquiry commission, which was tailor made to save the Sidhu couple, had done its job accordingly. The committee said only an independent judicial inquiry could bring out the truth and ensure appropriate punishment to the Sidhu couple.

Stating that the Congress government was still not serious about saving the sugarcane farmers from ruin, the core committee demanded that their Rs 417 crore dues be cleared along with interest. It also demanded that paddy farmers be compensated for the loss suffered by them in paying bribes of Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal to get their paddy procured.

The Committee also noted that the State government was denying Dearness Allowance to government employees and demanded the same be released along with arrears of Rs 4,000 crore. It also demanded immediate regularization of services of all contractual employees as per Act passed in 2016 failing which the party announced it would launch an agitation to ensure justice to the employees.

Giving details of the decisions taken at the Core Committee, party spokesperson Harcharan Bains said while the SAD specially thanked the Government of India and the PM Shri Narendra Modi for the Kartarpur Corridor initiative. He said the party also noted with gratitude that the Government of Pakistan had responded positively to this imitative in this regard. The resolution noted that even as the corridor was made possible by the grace of the guru and the prayers of the sangat, at the political level, this is the culmination of a long struggle waged by Shiromani Akali Dal led by its stalwarts like Master Tara Singh ji, Sant Fateh Singh ji, Sant Harchanad Singh ji Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh ji Tohra , Sardar Parkash Singh Badal and the present incumbent Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal .

The party also placed on record its”great appreciation of the life long struggle waged by Jathedar Kuldip Singh ji Wadala for getting the corridor opened , said Mr Bains. Late Prime Minister Shri Atal behari Vajpayee had taken up the issue with his then Pak counterpart Shri Nawaz Sharif at the behest of Sardar Parkash Singh Badal during the famous Lahore Bus trip. But political turmoil in Pakistan following the Kargil war had come in the way of fulfilling this dream.

Others present in the core committee meeting included Balwinder Singh Bhundar, Harsimrat Kaur Badal,Charanjit Singh Atwal ,Prem Singh Chandumajra,Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Jathedar Tota Singh,Hari Singh Zira,Gulzar Singh Ranike,Bibi Jagir Kaur,Janmeja Singh Sekhon ,Bibi Opinderjit Kaur,Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, Bhai Gobind Singh Longowal, Sharnjit Singh Dhillon,Surjit Singh Rakhra,Baldev Singh Mann, Harcharan Bains,