Farmers Movement Archive

Sukhbir Badal welcomes Kartarpur corridor reopening

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday welcomed the reopening of the Kartarpur corridor.Sukhbir, who held a series of meetings in the Nawanshahr constituency in support of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Nachhatar Pal, said the SAD as well as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had urged the Prime Minister to honour the sentiments of the Sikh community by reopening the corridor. He said the Punjab government should do its best to facilitate the visit of maximum devotees who had been waiting for the reopening for more than a year.The former deputy chief minister also urged the masses not to fall into the trap of anti-Panthic forces that were using the Sikh garb to weaken the community from inside. He said there was a deep-rooted conspiracy to render Sikhs leaderless by discrediting their religious institutions as well as their representative party – the Shiromani Akali Dal.On the income tax survey of SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Badal said he (Ayali) was being victimised. “Ayali’s sole fault is that he has supported the Kisan Andolan from the very beginning. He will continue to do so even now and such intimidatory tactics will not stop the SAD and its workers from raising their voice in solidarity with the farmers.”The SAD chief held various public meetings across Nawanshahr constituency, where he listened to public grievances and assured to redress them permanently after forming the government.Sukhbir also spoke with farmer union members who posed questions to him related to Akali Dal’s stand over the three farm laws and other issues. Sukhbir said that SAD had always supported the farmers and even broke the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party over three farm laws and his wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, quit the Union cabinet.“We also demand justice in the Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege cases as the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are politicising the issue,” he said.

Hindustan Times

17-11-2021

Chandigarh