DW BUREAU / Kurukshetra/Chandigarh

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said no Prime Minister should talk of one religion alone and asserted that it was unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah were not talking about the farmers or the poor but were inciting members of one religious community to fight against the other.

The SAD president was speaking at a massive Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) rally here after accompanying INLD secretary general Abhay Chautala when the latter filed his nomination papers for the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.

Speaking at the rally, Mr Sukhbir Badal said "our country belongs to everyone, be it Hindu, Sikh, Christian or Muslim. The Prime minister of the country represents everyone and should not take up cudgels on behalf of one religious community alone. He also should not represent two to three businessmen but instead should talk about the welfare of crores of farmers and the poor".

Giving a clarion call to strengthen the INLD, which he said was a regional party like the SAD; Mr Badal said "both these regional parties have always stood up for the interests of farmers". He said in stark contrast a national party like the Bharatiya Janata Party had framed the three agricultural laws without consulting farmers or even their ally ? the SAD. "This is why we chose to leave the NDA government. Bhaisahab Abhey Singh Chautala also resigned as member of the Vidhan Sabha. Both of us did this because we understand the pain of the farmer and are committed to safeguarding the interests of the annadata".

Detailing how the BJP had started a war with the SAD after the latter quit the NDA government, Mr Badal said "the BJP government in Maharashtra has handed over control of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib to the RSS". He said similarly the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was broken and a separate gurdwara committee was made in Haryana to give its control to the RSS.

The SAD president also warned the people to beware of both the Congress and AAP. He said Sikhs could never forgive Indira Gandhi for attacking Sri Darbar Sahib with tanks and mortars besides the Congress sponsored genocide of the community in 1984.

He said as far as AAP was concerned, the people of Haryana should take feedback from their neighbours in Haryana to assess how AAP had reneged on all promises made to Punjabis. "A party which won 92 seats in the Vidhan Sabha elections is set to be wiped out in the parliamentary elections in Punjab now",

Badal added.
(editor@dailyworld.in)