DW BUREAU / Chandigarh The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today requested the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to retain the national character of the Kisan Andolan by not imposing any restrictions on political activities in Punjab even as it offered all help to buttress the ongoing agitation on the borders of Delhi. Talking to newsmen after holding an extensive meeting with SKM representatives here, senior SAD leaders Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra and Maheshinder Singh Grewal said "a conspiracy is afoot by the centre to restrict the Kisan movement to Punjab and then suppress it by imposing President's Rule in the State. Our fight is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level. Political activity has not been restricted due to the Kisan Andolan in any other State in the country. Going to the people is as much your right as ours and this should not be restricted". The senior leaders, including Balwinder Singh Bhundur and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, who had earlier participated in a special meeting called at the instance of the SAD after a formal letter was sent to the SKM, also reiterated their unstinted support to the Kisan Sangharsh. "We understand that the Kisan movement should not be affected at all. We will not hold rallies on any day on which the SKM announces a special programme. We are also ready to support the Sangharsh by sending our cadre to the Delhi border protest sites. The SKM is also free to set a quota for participation from every political party and we will adhere to it". Asserting that the SAD did not want any confrontation with anyone, Prof Chandumajra and Mr Grewal said the SAD alone should not be singled out. They pointed out how the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had held a rally at Baghapurana and even gave an instance of a rally organized by the Congress in Khemkaran yesterday. "The Congress party is also campaigning through official programmes even as the Congress and AAP are indulging in a massive advertising campaign. In such a situation it is only right that the SAD goes to the people to protect the rights of farmers, youth and Dalits as well as trade and industry". The leaders also highlighted how the agitation, which had started from Punjab had spread first to Haryana and then across the country. They said the SAD had done its bit to give a boost to the agitation with former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigning from the ministry even as the SAD quit the NDA alliance. "We must take this movement forward rather than restricting it to a single State", they asserted. (editor@dailyworld.in)