Sidhu’s outburst no personal view, says Manpreet
Wednesday, 19/11/2014
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CHANDIGARH: People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal on Tuesday questioned the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on the fresh attack by BJP’s former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying that the reiteration of corruption charges against Akali leaders was now in the public domain and not confined to being Sidhu’s personal view.
In a statement, Manpreet said the SAD had complained to the alliance partner (BJP) about the outburst of Sidhu, who had ridiculed the SAD slogan of “Raaj nahin sewa” at Ludhiana on Sunday.
He said SAD leaders had exposed themselves by reacting adversely to Sidhu’s observations. The PPP chief said Sidhu was not just an ordinary ex-MP but also the leader who had been assigned duty by the BJP high command as the star campaigner in the recent Haryana elections where, for the first time, the alliance partner fired salvos against the SAD leadership which had supported the Indian National Lok Dal, with chief minister Parkash Singh Badal justifying it, citing family ties.
He also questioned the SADBJP alliance when leaders of the two parties were trading charges openly.
The PPP chief said Sidhu had been levelling similar charges against the Akali leadership during campaigning in Haryana, but at that time, there was little reaction.
The charges levelled by him could not be rejected as the outburst of a frustrated person who was denied ticket in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, Manpreet added. He said Sidhu was only articulating the collective perception among the people, who were fed with the SAD’s functioning.
