‘Akali Dal, with or without Sukhbir Badal, is safety valve for Punjab against threat of radicalism’

Jupinderjit Singh and Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25

A few hours before an open rebellion broke out in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, in an interview with The Tribune, said the SAD, with or without Sukhbir Singh Badal, was a safety valve for Punjab against the rising threat of radicalism.

Radicalisation is more dangerous than polarisation. Both the Centre, state made mistakes on farmers’ issues.

Speaking on The Tribune’s ‘Decode Punjab’ show, Jakhar, who has been a votary of a BJP-SAD re-alliance, said he did not know whether both parties would come together again. “The Akali Dal is not just another regional party. I am of the view even today that a strong Akali Dal is a representative political body of Akal Takht and the Panth,” he said.

Jakhar’s assertions came hours before 60 senior Akali leaders rebelled against Sukhbir in Jalandhar. Later in the evening, Sukhbir and party spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema said the BJP had conspired to break the party. They said the rebel leaders should be called “Akali Dal (Modi)”.

In the interview recorded in the morning, Jakhar insisted that the coming together of the BJP and SAD was not on the table now. “We have parted ways and contested elections against each other. I cannot look into the future, but a strong political representation of the Panth is a must. A moderate party (which the Akali Dal is) is required,” he said.

He said radicalisation attempt in Punjab due to the vacuum created by a weak Akali Dal was far more dangerous than the alleged polarisation of voters. “I am not betting on Sukhbir, but on the Panth’s political body, which is a safety valve for the apprehensions, either perceived or real, about radicalisation,” he said.

Speaking about the ongoing farmers’ protest on various issues and against BJP leaders, Jakhar said mistakes were made, but the self-styled farm leaders too were to be blamed for misleading protesters. “I am a farmer. I speak here as a farmer. But first of all, the diagnosis (of farmers’ issues) is wrong. And the cure that is being prescribed is not meant for the problem which the farmers face. The Punjab Government had its responsibilities. And the Centre… somehow, yes, it was their folly… They should have taken farmers on board.”Jakhar added, “It was job of the late SAD stalwart Parkash Singh Badal. He should have stepped in and helped formulate the laws or required amendments with the consent of the farmers. I think a better solution could have been found. There were no negotiations and the stakeholders were not involved.”