In new FB post, SAD projects Sukhbir as a ‘lone hawk' surrounded by ‘hunters'
2
Chandigarh: With its president
Sukhbir Singh Badal
facing another litmus test on Panthic turf after the formation of a rival faction that calls itself the 'real' Akali Dal, the
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) on Wednesday put out a post on its official Facebook handle.
The post took a dig at Badal's political opponents, and sought to project him as a 'ikkala baaj' (lone hawk), after whom there were 'several hunters'.
The post showed Badal standing with folded hands, a hawk in the background, and surrounded by his political opponents in a rotating circle. It included photos of leaders of the rival faction, Congress, and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but none of the BJP, the ex-ally of the SAD.
In the backdrop of the 46-second long clip, played the lines of 'a vaar' (a poetic style of singing) sung some years ago by a 'dhadhi jatha' to eulogise Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, which go like 'Eh baaz ikkala hai, isde magar ne bahut shikaari' (He is a lone hawk after whom there are many hunters).
The circle surrounding Badal in the post had photos of Giani Harpreet Singh, who was elected as president of the rival Akali faction on Monday, and members of the five-member panel which carried out the membership drive for the new faction 'as per directions of the Akal Takht'.
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The members of the panel whose photos were included are Manpreet Singh Ayali, Iqbal Singh Jhundan, Gurpartap Singh Wadala, and Santa Singh Umedpur.
It also had photos of other prominent Akali leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Jagir Kaur, and Parminder Singh Dhindsa, whom the SAD calls 'rebels'.
The circle surrounding Badal also had photos of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Aman Arora.
From Congress, it had photos of Jalandhar MP and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Ludhiana MP and Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, and Qadian legislator and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa.
Incidentally, no leader of the BJP figured in the post. Badal and SAD leadership have been accusing the Centre of 'hatching a plan' along with the rival group to finish off the SAD leadership.
A dhadhi jatha group led by Kulwinder Singh MA Ladhubhana claims to have penned the lyrics of the song, which was produced by music composer Kam Lohgarh. "I wrote the lyrics in 2015 or 2016. Kam Lohgarh gave music to it, and it became very famous," Ladhubhana said over the phone.
"This is basically a poem dedicated to Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. I was inspired to write it after listening to his interview where he was questioned that leaders of different political parties had their own agenda, to which he replied that he would alone bat for Panth and Guru Granth. This poem was inspired by that answer. There was a photo of him with a hawk, and I penned down the poem. We are also coming up with its part two in November," Ladhubhana said.
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