After Sukhbir Singh Badal, Amit Shah meet, signs of mending of ties
TNN | Feb 3, 2019, 06:13 IST
(From left to right) Sukhbir Singh Badal and Amit Shah. CHANDIGARH/ JALANDHAR: In the backdrop of reports of escalating rift on some issues between allies Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP, the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and national BJP president Amit Shah held a two-hour meeting at New Delhi on Friday evening.
Well placed sources in SAD said that all issues have been ironed out between SAD and BJP. "Both sides can't afford to annoy each other," they added.
Earlier, SAD spokesperson and former cabinet minister, Daljit Singh Cheema said, "We are not aware about the outcome of the meeting." Cheema said both party presidents were to discuss the issue of BJP and RSS interference in the Hazur Sahib Gurdwara management in Nanded, Maharashtra.
"Since the Lok Sabha elections are nearing, they were expected to discuss the election strategy as well," he said. Out of the total 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, SAD contests from 10 and BJP three. Cheema said the SAD president would reveal the details of talks at the core committee meeting scheduled at Chandigarh on Sunday.
Maharashtra government wants to amend Hazur Sahib Act
It is learnt that the SAD president had earlier made some unsuccessful attempts to meet Shah. The SAD also refrained from issuing any official reaction to the budget. Party insiders said that after interference by the RSS and the Maharashtra BJP government in the management of Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded, the party leaders are waiting for the core committee meeting called on February 3.
Hazur Sahib is one of the five temporal seats of Sikhs. The Maharashtra BJP government wants to amend the Hazur Sahib Management Act, 1956, to elect the gurdwara management committee members and to appoint its chairperson as per its choice. However, the Akali Dal had been opposing it terming it an interference in Sikh religious matters.
SAD president’s wife and food processing industry minister Harsimrat Kaur had on Thursday invited parliamentarians for lunch at her official residence in New Delhi. The event was attended by senior BJP leaders, including home minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, textiles minister Smriti Irani, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and others. But later in the afternoon, the SAD had skipped the NDA allies’ meeting for discussing Parliament budget session strategy, expressing resentment over the Hazur Sahib management issue.
Well placed sources in SAD said that all issues have been ironed out between SAD and BJP. "Both sides can't afford to annoy each other," they added.
Earlier, SAD spokesperson and former cabinet minister, Daljit Singh Cheema said, "We are not aware about the outcome of the meeting." Cheema said both party presidents were to discuss the issue of BJP and RSS interference in the Hazur Sahib Gurdwara management in Nanded, Maharashtra.
"Since the Lok Sabha elections are nearing, they were expected to discuss the election strategy as well," he said. Out of the total 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, SAD contests from 10 and BJP three. Cheema said the SAD president would reveal the details of talks at the core committee meeting scheduled at Chandigarh on Sunday.
Maharashtra government wants to amend Hazur Sahib Act
It is learnt that the SAD president had earlier made some unsuccessful attempts to meet Shah. The SAD also refrained from issuing any official reaction to the budget. Party insiders said that after interference by the RSS and the Maharashtra BJP government in the management of Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded, the party leaders are waiting for the core committee meeting called on February 3.
Hazur Sahib is one of the five temporal seats of Sikhs. The Maharashtra BJP government wants to amend the Hazur Sahib Management Act, 1956, to elect the gurdwara management committee members and to appoint its chairperson as per its choice. However, the Akali Dal had been opposing it terming it an interference in Sikh religious matters.
SAD president’s wife and food processing industry minister Harsimrat Kaur had on Thursday invited parliamentarians for lunch at her official residence in New Delhi. The event was attended by senior BJP leaders, including home minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, textiles minister Smriti Irani, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and others. But later in the afternoon, the SAD had skipped the NDA allies’ meeting for discussing Parliament budget session strategy, expressing resentment over the Hazur Sahib management issue.
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