Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), after leaving Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday trashed allegations leveled by SAD leadership that BJP coerced and used dirty tricks to induct him into the party.
Mr. Sirsa said he had joined the BJP with the sole agenda to serve Sikh community and the BJP had provided him a platform which will help resolve Sikh issues prevailing for long.
Mr. Sirsa said that he was surprised at these allegations leveled by Akali leadership. “If the BJP had to coerce me, the party would have asked me to join as the president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and not as an individual. I joined voluntarily because after breaking alliance with the BJP, the Akali Dal was not in a position to work on resolving Sikh issues as there was no one left to help them out,” he said.
Mr. Sirsa said that he had left SAD without leveling any sort of allegations, unlike many others who blamed the grand old party for turning into a family centric party.
“I am a positive man with a single focus - to serve the community and it is possible only by being the member of a national party. I have a commitment with myself that I will only focus on resolving Sikh issues and getting demands of Sikh community fulfilled. Akali Dal today has been reduced to a regional party as its leadership itself claims and is not focusing on pan-India Sikh issues,” he said.
He said that Sikhs residing both inside and outside Punjab were looking up to him to take up their issues. “Sikhs of Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have several issues daunting them and they are seeking help to resolve their crisis. These issues can be resolved on a platform like BJP by raising voice at the national level. I can also help resolving Sikh issues at the international level too,” he added.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had on December 3 said that the Centre was trying to weaken the SAD but would not succeed even as he asserted that all leaders who had left the mother party had been finished forever.
He said that conspiracies were being hatched to weaken the SAD as it was the true representative of Punjabis worldwide. “The SAD is the first to safeguard the interests of Punjabis in India and abroad, and this is not liked by many. This is why they want to weaken the SAD. I appeal to you to keep your house strong as the SAD is your strength,” he said at a public gathering.
