Punjab Congress dismisses SAD dharnas as another desperate bid to vitiate state’s atmosphere for political interests

Chandigarh, June 12

The Punjab Congress on Monday dismissed the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) statewide protest as a frivolous attempt to divert public attention from the failure of its own erstwhile government to protect the interests of the Sikh community.

In a joint statement issued here, several Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leaders termed the protests as another attempt by the Akalis to further vitiate the state’s atmosphere, which had witnessed a spate of incidents of sacrilege under their rule, to serve their petty political interests.

The statement was issued by PPCC leaders Harinder Singh Bhambri, Sukhpal Singh Bhullar, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Narinder Singh Bhaleria, all district presidents.

The Congress leaders said SAD’s desperate attempt to vilify the Captain Amarinder Singh led government on the issue of the Heritage Street liquor ads had already backfired on the party, which was totally responsible for the obnoxious fallout of its decision to lease out the LED screens in gross violation of all ethical norms, without apparently even following due legal procedures.

Faced with imminent exposure on this and other issues, especially related to financial bungling and mismanagement in the decade of its rule, the Akalis were now resorting to gimmickry and theatrics in a desperate bid to cover up their own wrongdoings, said the PPCC leaders, pointing out that the government would soon be bringing out a White Paper on the financial misdeeds of the Badal regime.

Rejecting SAD charges of some gurdwara properties being usurped by the ruling party leaders, the PPCC leaders termed the allegation as an eyewash by the Akalis, who had themselves been guilty of controlling the largest and most important Sikh religious body – the SGPC, to promote their vested political interests.

The Punjab Congress leaders termed as unfortunate the decision of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) to support the SAD dharnas against the Congress government, and stressed the need to delineate politics from religion in order to safeguard the religious interests of the people.

It was the Akalis who had undermined the Sikh religious legacy by promoting communal disharmony and indulging in divisive politics, the Congress leaders said, adding that the people of Punjab were sick of such destructive politicking and wanted to see opposition parties play a constructive role to help the government restore the confidence of the people and bring the state back on the path of progress.