Amritsar, June 23
The friction between high-profile BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu and Akali Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia has come to the fore once again. The two leaders, who are in a tussle over the appointment of Amritsar mayor, traded charges fresh against each other on Saturday.

Sidhu cannot teach SAD the norms of coalition dharma. It was only due to SAD’s integrity that its alliance partner has been brought  to power again. — Bikram Singh Majithia, Punjab minister Some leaders of the SAD had attempted to suppress the voice of people during the recent municipal corporation elections to satisfy their egos. — Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amritsar MP

The sparring between the two leaders has come at a time when both the partners in the ruling combine are striking discordant notes over key issues.

A few days ago, Sidhu had gone public with his anger over SAD’s alleged strategy of fielding Independent rebel candidates against the BJP in the recently held municipal corporation elections. Majithia today challenged Sidhu to prove his charges against the SAD.

“The SAD and the BJP are partners. Sidhu cannot teach SAD the norms of coalition dharma. It was only due to SAD’s integrity that its alliance partner has been brought to power again”, he said.

“The SAD and the BJP are partners. Sidhu cannot teach SAD the norms of coalition dharma. It was only due to SAD’s integrity that its alliance partner has been brought to power again”, he said.

Terming Sidhu’s statements as ‘baseless’, Majithia said Sidhu should not forget the role played by the SAD in 2009 Lok Sabha polls. “Had there been no support of the SAD, someone else would have been the Amritsar MP. Sidhu should remember that he had got 3000 votes from Amritsar South, 15,000 votes from Rajasansi, 10,000 votes from Ajnala, 5,700 votes from Attari and 21,000 votes from Majitha,” 
he said.

The Akali minister asserted that the final decision on the mayor’s seat would be taken by the party top brass soon.

Sidhu, on his part, said the BJP was a national party and not a puppet of any individual. “It was due to the joint efforts of both parties that the alliance retained power in Punjab. Majithia should also not forgot that had there been no support of BJP’s 19 seats in 2007 and 12 seats in 2012, things would have been very different for the SAD today”, he said.

“It is an open secret that some leaders of the SAD had attempted to suppress the voice of people during the recently held civic polls just to satisfy their ego,” Sidhu claimed.

Sidhu and Majithia have never shared comfortable relations. The duo has never left a chance to outdo each other since Since 2007 Assembly elections. Since Majithia shares close proximity with the SAD top brass, Sidhu feels he has been belittled during the administrative functions held at Amritsar. In 2009, Sidhu was not even invited when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Amritsar. He had then moved a privilege motion against DC Kahan Singh Pannu. Earlier too, Sidhu was not on the guest list during the inauguration of the passport office and the national youth festival. Pannu, in his defence, had claimed that the MPs were invited by the state government and not the district administration.

The strains in the SAD-BJP ties are showing up.

The BJP had on June 21 strongly differed with the SAD on the Rajoana issue with its Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal saying that no “murderer” could be termed as a martyr.

Though there was no black and white agreement between the Akalis and the BJP on sharing of mayor posts, a broader understanding was there that the alliance partners would share two corporations each — Ludhiana and Patiala for the SAD and Jalandhar and Amritsar for the BJP.

In the 65-member Amritsar MC house, SAD and BJP have 24 councillors each with 12 Independents and 4 Congress representatives. Result of Ward No. 3 has been withheld. It is expected to go in favour of SAD as the Congress candidate and another Independent candidate have withdrawn in favour of the SAD. This will take SAD’s tally to 25, one more than the BJP. Besides, there are at least 10 Independents who were allegedly been fielded by the SAD, with a view to weaken the BJP’s claim for the mayor’s post. Traditionally, whenever the SAD-BJP alliance has been in majority, the mayor’s post has gone to the BJP. This is now being protested by the SAD which is eyeing the coveted post. SAD leaders are just waiting for the Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal to return from his trip abroad.