SAD Working Committee unanimously appeals to party president S Sukhbir Singh Badal to reconsider his resignation
SAD Working Committee unanimously appeals to party president S Sukhbir Singh Badal to reconsider his resignation. (Committee members stand up as one in the meeting and assert they would also resign in case the President does not withdraw his resignation) (Party Working President Balwinder S Bhunder says he has been flooded with calls from party leaders who have expressed shock at the turn of events and he has accordingly decided to schedule meetings of district presidents, constituency incharges and SGPC members to allow them to convey their sentiments to the party) Chandigarh, November 18 – The Working Committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today unanimously appealed to party president S Sukhbir Singh Badal to reconsider his resignation and asserted that if the latter did not accept its request the entire Committee would resign enmasse.The Committee, while expressing its complete confidence in the leadership of S Sukhbir Singh Badal, said he should continue to steer the party as its president. “This is the need of the hour”, they said in a strongly worded resolution. The Committee members also asserted that they were aware that a conspiracy had been hatched against the SAD and that its main purpose was to render the party leaderless. “We will not allow such a conspiracy to succeed at any cost. Mr Sukhbir Badal is our leader and will continue to be our leader”.Briefing the media about the meeting, Mr Balwinder Bhunder said “the members conveyed their sentiments forcefully and did not mince their words while praising the services of Mr Sukhbir Badal and conveying that the party needed his services even more so at this crucial juncture. This is why they stood up collectively in one voice and asserted that they would also tender their resignation in case the President did not withdraw the same”.Meanwhile the Working President said he had been flooded by calls from district presidents, halka incharges, Shiromani Committee members and Youth Akali Dal and Istri Akali Dal members since the last two days. Some members have already forwarded their resignations to me to express solidarity with the party President. “All these persons are perturbed at the sudden turn of events and have expressed their anguish to me personally. The leaders have told me they want to convey their sentiments to the party. Accordingly I have decided to convene formal meetings of district presidents, constituency incharges and Shiromani Committee members to hear their view point and arrive at a broader consensus on this critical issue”.Meanwhile the Working Committee expressed shock at the manner in which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the central government were colluding to dilute Punjab’s right over Chandigarh. It also took umbrage to the evasive statement of the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator that the decision to allot land to Haryana in Chandigarh for a separate Assembly had not been taken till yet. “The Administrator should state point blank that he would not grant permission for the same instead of coming out with diplomatic statements due to the ongoing by-elections in Punjab”. The Committee also condemned the AAP government for failing to give a no objection certificate to facilitate the release of Bandi Singh Balwant Singh Rajoana on parole in the Supreme Court on the last date of hearing. It said the AAP government in Delhi had also played with the sentiments of the Sikh community by first promising Bandi Singh Devenderpal Singh Bhullar would be released and then rejecting his special remission plea seven times. The Committee also condemned the manner in which democracy was being throttled in the Panjab University with the proposal to discontinue with its Senate