PATIALA: SAD leaders on Monday stressed on the need to strengthen federalism in the country, saying the central government was misusing the governor’s position by summoning Punjab officers to the Raj Bhawan. Akali leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said even though they had political differences with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, SAD would never allow the governor to intervene in the affairs of government elected by the people.
Addressing a congregation at Gurdwara Sahib Patshahi Nauvi, Bahadurgarh, where an akhand path was held to pay homage to Sant Ram Singh Singhri Wale and farmers who died during the ongoing agitation against the agri laws, SAD president Sukhbir said the governor’s office was being misused in the same manner as was happening in West Bengal. He said the governor should not become a mouthpiece of the BJP. He claimed the SAD had approached the governor a number of times with memorandums on public issues like hooch tragedy, liquor and sand mafia and criminalisation of politics over the last few years but the latter had not acted on a single issue. “Now, when the interest of BJP workers is at stake, the governor has taken prompt action and summoned senior most officers for a dressing down,” he said. Sukhbir also called Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘hankari’ (egotistical).