Coming out in the support of beleaguered Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, two senior party leaders — Anandpur Sahib MP Prem Singh Chandumajra and former Vidhan Sabha speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon — on Monday said they had no issue with the former deputy chief minister leading the party.

Talking to mediapersons in Rupnagar, Chandumajra said Sukhbir voluntarily offered to resign from the president’s post even as nobody asked him to do so.

Referring to the rebellion by SAD’s Majha leaders, he said, “If some party leader had presented his point of view, Sukhbir would have respected it. The present crisis in SAD will be resolved amicably and the party would emerge stronger.”

In a press release, Nirmal Singh Kahlon said, “We won the 2012 assembly elections under Sukhbir Badal’s leadership. There is no need for him to quit.”

Taking a dig at the dissident veteran leaders, he said, “Why didn’t they resign when desecration of Guru Granth Sahib took place in 2015? Sewa Singh Sekhwan (former minister), Ranjit Singh Brahmpura (Khadoor Sahib MP) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Rajya Sabha MP), who have raised a question mark on Sukhbir’s leadership have benefitted immensely during the Akali regime from 2007 to 2107. Now when the party needs them they are creating issues. It is shameful on their part,” he said.

Also, Chandumajra said he would move a private member’s resolution the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament seeking to declare the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as a genocide.

He condemned the alleged distortion of Sikh history in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)’s Class 12 textbook.

Coming out in the support of beleaguered Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, two senior party leaders — Anandpur Sahib MP Prem Singh Chandumajra and former Vidhan Sabha speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon — on Monday said they had no issue with the former deputy chief minister leading the party.

Talking to the mediapersons in Rupnagar, Chandumajra said Sukhbir voluntarily offered to resign from the president’s post even as nobody asked him to do so.

Referring to the rebellion by SAD’s Majha leaders, he said, “If some party leader had presented his point of view, Sukhbir would have respected it. The present crisis in SAD will be resolved amicably and the party would emerge stronger.”

In a press release, Nirmal Singh Kahlon said, “We won the 2012 assembly elections under Sukhbir Badal’s leadership. There is no need for him to quit.”

Taking a dig at the dissident veteran leaders, he said, “Why didn’t they resign when desecration of Guru Granth Sahib took place in 2015? Sewa Singh Sekhwan (former minister), Ranjit Singh Brahmpura (Khadoor Sahib MP) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (Rajya Sabha MP), who have raised a question mark on Sukhbir’s leadership have benefitted immensely during the Akali regime from 2007 to 2017. Now when the party needs them they are creating issues. It is shameful on their part,” he said.

Also, Anandpur Sahib MP Chandumajra said he would move a private member’s resolution the Lok Sabha during the winter session of Parliament seeking to declare the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 as a genocide.

He condemned the alleged distortion of Sikh history in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)’s Class 12 textbook.

First Published: Oct 30, 2018 09:50 IST