We are real SAD, will soon get EC stamp, says Giani Harpreet Singh

Hindustan Times

18 hours ago

A day after getting unanimously elected as president of the breakaway Shiromani Akali Dal faction, Giani Harpreet Singh, 52, on Tuesday sharpened his attack on Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and dubbed the recruitment and presidential polls conducted by the group as 'bogus'. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the former Akal Takht acting jathedar said his faction will soon approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a claim over party nomenclature, election symbol and office. Edited excerpts: Giani Harpreet Singh
How is your group different from SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal? What is the need for a separate outfit?
They (Sukhbir camp) did not follow the party principles. We will do so. We are real Akali Dal. They buried the traditions for which the Akali Dal was formed over 100 years ago. We will revive that tradition and implement the principles. They discarded the panth and issues of Sikhs and Punjab. They did not address issues of Punjab and the panth and paid no heed to getting them resolved during the 15 years of power from 1997 onwards. Despite being a partner in the ruling BJP-led NDA at the Centre, they made no efforts to get the issues resolved. They don't care about the interests of Sikhs and Punjab.
The Sukhbir group has alleged that this entire exercise was pre-planned, and you always harboured the ambition to lead SAD. Your response?
It would have been pre-planned if I knew that I would be sacked as jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib. I am a student of religious studies, and preaching religious ethos is my duty. Had I not been removed, I would have remained on that post, and panth would not have chosen me for the political post. It would have been pre-planned if I, as a jathedar, had resigned to become the president. Their allegations could have still made sense if I had resigned from the post after the December 2 decree. The decision to remove me was theirs. How can they say that it was pre-planned?
How do you respond to their allegations that a person, who was part of the decree that called for Akali unity, is now leading a breakaway group?
The dissident group 'Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar' was dissolved on the same day that the decree was pronounced. However, it was the Badal camp that never wanted reconciliation and did not accept the dissident leaders. Sukhbir camp also did not accept a 7-member committee constituted by the Akal Takht to reorganise the party. Instead, dissident leaders cooperated with the 7-member committee by dissolving their group. Sukhbir camp leaders should have cooperated with the committee, but instead conducted their recruitment drive and elected their president. It violated the decree, which had stated that present leadership had no moral right to give political patronage to the panth.
What is the ground to claim SAD's election symbol and head office?
The biggest ground of our claim is that the Badal camp conducted a bogus recruitment and made a bogus president. On the other hand, our recruitment drive is genuine and mentions Aadhaar card numbers and contact numbers. Anyone from the Election Commission of India (ECI) can check and investigate the documents. We will approach the ECI over this. If need arises, we will also move to the court.
Is the merger of both factions possible in future?
Yes, if the leaders of the Sukhbir faction express commitment to protect the principles and traditions which they have discarded. If they give up their ego and get ready to dissolve their faction, the merger is possible.
There are allegations that you have the BJP/Centre's backing. Are you going to ally with them in future?
Such decisions can only be taken when a working committee of the party is formed. My personal opinion is that the party principles and issues of Punjab and the panth should be of priority. No alliance will take shape with any party just to get ministerial berths. The party is new, and an alliance is not possible at this stage. We will sit and discuss what should be done or not. Linking dissident leaders to rival parties is an old business of the Sukhbir camp. They did not even spare former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra when he parted ways with Parkash Singh Badal in 1999, and dubbed him as 'agent of Congress'.
How will you compete with the Sukhbir-led SAD, which has a lot of resources, office and controls SGPC?
We are not bothered and don't care about these things. Our party is run by ordinary people. When ordinary people start backing and running political parties, then money or resources do not matter. The example of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is there. Ordinary people became MLAs without any money or muscle power. Commitment, confidence and dedication is needed to run the parties. If Sukhbir has a lot of resources and money, how come the party is facing an existential crisis and was reduced to just three seats in the last assembly elections?