DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Rebel Akali leaders on Monday launched a 'Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar' aimed to "strengthen and uplift" the 103-year-old outfit while asserting that the party's present situation under the current leadership indicates that its "existence was in danger".

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal said there was no space in the party head office for those leaders who launched a programme against the party, asserting the SAD workers would not tolerate such elements.

A section of the senior party leaders last month had revolted against SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, demanding that he should step down from his post following the party's debacle in the recently held Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.

Among the prominent leaders who raised a banner of revolt included former MP Chandumajra, former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala, former ministers Sikandar Singh Maluka, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Surjit Singh Rakhra, and party leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur.

The rebel Akali leaders on Monday appointed former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala as the platform's convener.

"We are going to start 'Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar'. We request all Punjabis and 'pro-panth' people to support us in this movement," said Wadala while addressing the media here after the meeting.

"We want to uplift and strengthen the Akali Dal. We want to see the party strong. It seems that the existence of the Akali Dal is in danger with the kind of present situation the party is in today," he asserted.

Targeting Badal for bringing "corporate culture" in the SAD, Wadal said people rejected the same and drifted away from the outfit.

Wadala said they will also connect with leaders who were expelled by the Akali Dal in the past but follow the SAD ideology and will involve them in this

movement.
(editor@dailyworld.in)