Akali’s suffer another setback: Long term supporters join Congress to support Tewari - 24/04/2009
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh represents India and India is Dr Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi is progressive. Because of this intelligent leadership and attitude Congress is the only party to lead India. By contrast, Advani is divisive and against minorities, and voting for the SAD means supporting those policies, which we cannot advocate”. These are the words of Mrs Jagdish Kaur Swaddi, S. Prithpal Singh Doabia, and S. Harinder Pal Singh, long term, loyal and active SAD supporters who are today joining Congress.They went on to say that the SAD does not represent the interests of Punjab, only the Badal family. Despite years of party loyalty, they do not feel that CM Badal is the right leader for Punjab.
Feeling they were ignored within the SAD, despite prominent campaigning and work for the party over many years (since the 1970s and 80s), S. Harinder Pal Singh describes this “disaffection” and they all joined to say how they want progress, Punjab to prosper and not be divided by party factionalism, and that only within Congress can this be achieved.
These three long term Akali’s spoke with a common voice saying that Dr Manmohan Singh’s policies at the centre were genuinely for the upliftment of India, and that they wholeheartedly supported that goal. They said it was unfortunate that though most of the grants and funding coming to Punjab were from the Centre, the Badal government refused to acknowledge the ongoing support of Congress to the state.
Mrs Jagdish Kaur Swaddi from Ludhiana was, until today, senior member of the Badal Akali Dal. Previously she contested Vidhan Sabha elections in 1991 and 1997 from the Dakha constituency. She also contested for SGPC Raikot Constituency in 1996. She created a Women’s Akali Dal in 1994, which later merged with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).
S Prithpal Singh Doabia, also from Ludhiana, has been an SAD supporter since 1986, even going to jail for the party for 1 ½ years. He was Punjab Organising Secretary for Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) before resigning recently due to disagreeing with the Badal-centric policies.
S. Harinder Pal Singh started his support for the SAD with the Youth Akali Dal over 30 years ago in 1977. Feeling that the SAD is a dictatorship not a leadership, he today joins Congress.
