Tarn Taran, March 4
The Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD), headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today suffered a big setback when
octogenarian party leader and former SGPC chief Prem Singh Lalpura today
resigned from Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the highest decision making
body of the party, in protest against fielding an ‘outsider’ for the Tarn Taran
Lok Sabha seat.
Mr Lalpura said this was for the first time that a sitting
Member of Parliament, Mr Tarlochan Singh Tur, who belonged to a family which had
made supreme sacrifices for the sake of the panth, was denied ticket without
assigning any reason.
Mr Badal, however, said the resignation had been accepted
in anticipation though he had not received it as yet.
SAD sources said, Mr
Lalpura had pre-empted the move of the party as he (Mr Lalpura) was likely to be
sacked for supporting Mr Tur who was recently expelled from the party for his
‘anti-party’ activities.
Mr Lalpura told TNS that it was unfortunate that Mr
Badal had scant respect for dedicated party workers. He had been promoting
members of his own family at the cost of senior party leaders.
Mr Lalpura had
been inducted into the PAC after rapprochement reached between Mr Badal and Mr
Gurcharn Singh Tohra.
Describing Dr Rattan Singh, an official candidate of the
SAD from the Tarn Taran parliamentary constituency as ‘an outsider’, Mr Lalpura
alleged that ‘wrong distribution’ of party ticket had shocked senior leaders and
caused a lot of resentment among the grass-root workers.
Mr Lalpura is known
for his rebellious attitude. It was he, who had once opposed the leadership of
legendary Sikh leader Master Tara Singh in the early sixties. Later, he had
openly opposed the Rajiv- Longowal accord in 1985. The SAD had to face
byelection in 1998 when Mr Lalpura had refused to enter in Parliament after
winning from the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency. Again he was inducted into
the SAD and won the Assembly election on party ticket in 1997.
