Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal has said that his party’s alliance with the BJP is permanent and all talk about differences has been created by the media. Excerpts from his interview with
Harpreet Bajwa:
Will your alliance with the BJP continue till the 2019 general elections considering that differences have cropped up?
All this talk is media-created. Our ties with the BJP are rock solid. We are the oldest and most trustworthy ally of the BJP. Our alliance with the BJP is permanent and will continue.
Is there is a feeling in Akali Dal that it’s not getting a fair deal from the NDA government despite being its oldest ally?
There is nothing like that. Akali Dal and BJP share the best of equations and all our issues are resolved amicably after due discussion.
Despite repeated requests by you and your party leaders, including your wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Modi Government did not waive GST on langar at the Golden Temple.
This is the failure of the Congress government in Punjab. All finance ministers are members of the GST Council. It was incumbent on Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal to take up this issue forcefully in the GST meeting. He has failed to do so.
Any change in your party’s strategy after last year’s humiliating defeat?
If you look at the numbers and vote percentage, you will revise your view about what you are terming as humiliating defeat. SAD is next to Congress in vote percentage and has been able to retain its core vote bank despite a vicious defamation campaign run by the Opposition.
Your take on one year of the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab.
The performance of the Congress government and Capt Amarinder Singh is there for all to see. The Congress has reneged on each and every promise made to the people, be it waiving off loans to farmers, providing employment to youth or increasing social benefit schemes. It has been mired in corruption, sand and liquor mafias are having a field day. The rule of law has gone for a toss. All sections of society, especially the poor, are suffering.
Are you able to follow in your father Parkash Singh Badal’s footsteps?
Whatever I have learnt is from my father. I try my best to emulate him. He is a continuous source of inspiration for me.
Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been a bitter critic of your family and has gone to the extent of shutting down projects started by you.
His theatrics and his hatred for SAD are reflected in his actions. He closed the Harike tourism project, which was aimed at bringing the wetland on the international tourist map. He called the Virasat-i-Khalsa, an iconic example of Sikh culture and heritage, a white elephant. He has not delivered a single thing as minister. All sewerage projects have been halted. No development is taking place.
Is AAP a force to reckon with as the main opposition with four MPs?
Is there any AAP in Punjab now? I can’t see it.