JALANDAR: Shiromani Akali Dal is finally recovering its anti-Delhi timbre and the strong adjectives against the Centre, which were integral parts of its politics, especially under former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Over the last 20 years, Akali Dal has remained in power either in Delhi or in Punjab or both places. After 13 years, the party is completely out of power and discovering its vocabulary of true opposition.
Initially, Akali leaders, especially the Badals, used guarded language on the BJP and the union government. Over the past two days, they have started invoking late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Congress to compare the path taken by the BJP. Use of strong adjectives against the Centre has also started in the last two days. When leaders of farm unions walked out of the meeting with the Union agriculture minister in Delhi on Wednesday over the absence of ministers, Akali Dal termed it a “betrayal” by the Union government “on the pretext of so-called talks.”
“BJP govt is repeating the blunders of the past Congress rulers in Punjab and is resorting to the same anti-Punjab policies. Since the farmers’ struggle is a national issue, the PM should have found time to meet the annadatainstead of sending a faceless bureaucrat to preach to them,” said Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday after talks failed.
On Thursday, Youth Akali Dal workers protested to strengthen the party’s opposition to the Centre. This showed a concious attempt by the SAD to sharpen its language against Delhi.
Expressing “shock” that the Centre was not ready to listen to or meet farmers, and is instead fielding its ministers in Punjab to tell farmers how beneficial the agri laws were, Akali Dal, on its official Facebook page posted, “BJP government should not follow in the steps taken by Indira Gandhi and must avoid playing with Punjabi sentiment,” while posting pictures of YAD protest led by its president Parambans Singh Romana.
After Parkash Singh Badal formed government in Punjab in 1997 in alliance with the BJP, they remained in complete opposition only from Parliament elections in April 2004 till Punjab assembly elections in February 2007. From 2007 to 2017, not only did the Badal-led Akali Dal get power in Punjab but they also remained partners in the Union government from 2014. For the last over 13 years till around a month back, they remained incumbents in the government in Chandigarh or Delhi.