Akali Dal targeted Prime Minister Modi’s statement against Muslims, he said

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiromani Akali Dal said that India is known as a sovereign, secular, democratic country. The Prime Minister should never make any statement that incites communal hatred, mistrust and venom among the people of India.

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal, which claims to represent the interests of the Sikh community, launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after he made comments about Muslims during an election rally in Rajasthan. The opposition party ‘India’ has also widely expressed its anger and displeasure over Prime Minister Modi’s comments.

Recently in Rajasthan on Sunday (April 21), PM Modi launched a direct attack on the country’s Muslims, saying that if the opposition comes to power, people’s hard-earned money will go to the ‘infiltrators’ and ‘producers’ to

Akali Dal national spokesperson shares clip of Modi’s Sunday speech Parambans Singh Romana X (formerly Twitter) posted, ‘The venom and hatred is on another level. However, India is called a ‘sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic country’.

Romana said, ‘The mistake we all make is that we only think about injustice when it is against us. If they are today, we will be tomorrow. Embarrassing and very annoying.’

Meanwhile, Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal responded by saying that the Prime Minister should never make statements that spread communal hatred, mistrust and venom among the people of India.

Badal said, ‘India belongs equally to Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and others. The Prime Minister and the BJP should learn from Sardar Prakash Singh Badal how to ensure communal peace and harmony. Badal Sahib personally respected and celebrated the religious ceremonies and occasions of each community. This country belongs to all of us. Everyone should respect him.’

This is the strongest attack by Akali Dal against Modi so far. The Akali Dal shared power in the central government for several years before breaking the formal alliance in 2020 due to the farmers’ movement.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to reunite with the Akali Dal before the general elections, but the alliance talks failed because the Akali Dal offered the BJP the release of Sikh prisoners and less for all the farmers’ crops -Demands election such as a minimum support price, which led to the second phase of farmers’ protests in February this year.

Apart from Romana, another senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who is also the brother-in-law of party president Badal, took a jibe at Modi.

By Majithia Post on x I said, ‘Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji has taught us to treat all human beings equally and to wish everyone well by saying ‘Sarbat Da Bhalla’. What Prime Minister Modi did yesterday has undermined our Constitution framed by Dr BR Ambedkar which treats all citizens equally. Akali Dal has always stood for minorities, Punjab and Punjabis. PM Narendra Modi, is it ‘Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas?’

He said, ‘I am very ashamed of your statement because you are the Prime Minister of India and India is a secular country. I strongly condemn the behavior of Prime Minister Modi who is trying to polarize the votes, which also shows that he is losing the election.’

What does Akali Dal’s new stand on Modi show?

For a long time, Akali Dal and BJP leaders have been saying that the two parties are natural political allies. But things are no longer the same.

Political analyst Harjeshwar Singh told The Wire that Akali Dal’s fierce attack against Modi has deep political meaning and implications.

He said that the BJP has become unpopular in rural Punjab in the past few years due to the strong opposition of farmers against the Modi government. Almost all of its Lok Sabha candidates have faced opposition in rural areas during their recent campaigns.

“By attacking Modi and the BJP, the Akali Dal – which is in a position to regain ground in the state – is trying to downplay its previous ties with the BJP and send a message to its core voters,” he said. with the wider interests of Punjab and Punjabi.

“Secondly, the Akali Dal is also wary that the BJP is trying to expand in Punjab,” he said. Attacking Modi for his anti-Muslim comments is politically expedient to win back his core Sikh voters back home.’

Last week, Majithia openly asked voters not to allow BJP candidates to enter Punjab villages.

He said, ‘BJP stopped the farmers from going to Delhi for their protest. Just as they have stopped farmers from going to Delhi, BJP candidates should also be stopped from going to villages in Punjab. They should face the questions.’

(Click here to read in English.)

Related