LS polls: SAD chief Badal denies speculations of tie-up with BJP in Punjab but says 'like-minded parties' welcome

Kapurthala (Punjab) [India], March 15 (ANI): On a day the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) named its candidates for 8 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal denied speculations of reaching any alliance with the BJP but did not entirely rule out the possibility of a tie-up in future.
The Akalis were partners of the BJP earlier in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre and the two even contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state together but failed to come up with the goods.
However, seeking to dispel rumours that the two parties could be costing up again ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and might even announce a seat-sharing deal in Punjab, the SAD chief said neither his party nor the BJP has any knowledge of an alliance in the state.
Claiming that such speculations were only confined to social media platforms, he said his party was keen to continue its tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state.
"Neither myself nor the BJP is aware of any alliance in Punjab. This (speculations of a tie-up) is only confined to social media. At this moment, we are keen on contesting all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. We have an alliance with the BSP...but I am not ruling out (the possibility of a tie-up with the BJP). Like-minded parties that want to save Punjab are most welcome to join us. We cannot and will not go with the Congress or the 'broom' (AAP)," the SAD chief, leaving the alliance door open.
The SAD snapped ties with the BJP and exited the NDA in September 2020 over the contentious farm laws of the Centre. The laws, however, were repealed later in the face of farmer protests.
On AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's statement on the Centre's notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), claiming that law and order will collapse and crimes will go up if it was implemented, Badal said, "Kejriwal has an anti-Sikh and an anti-minority mindset. Shiromani Akali Dal had been saying from the beginning that Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been facing a lot of strife in their homeland. Many of them crossed over into India over the past several years."
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), as articulated by the Centre, is a legal grant of permanent residentship to members of religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, who fled alleged persecution in their homelands and crossed over into India.
"We have been saying that they (religious minorities currently settled in India as refugees) should be granted citizenship. We supported CAA in the Parliament too. I have known about Kejrwal's anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh mindset from the beginning. However, for others, it is coming to light now," the SAD chief said.
On the AAP's prospects in Punjab in the Lok Sabha polls, the former deputy CM said, "I was following Kejriwal's statement yesterday. He is very shrewd. Initially, when he sensed a fertile ground for the AAP in Punjab to bed itself in, he told people, 'Ek mauka do Kejriwal ko' (Give Kejriwal a chance). When they won handsomely (in the 2022 Assembly polls), he took all the credit for it. However, now he has come to realise that this useless government and CM have done nothing for the state other than inflicting damage, he is saying that the party will build its campaign for the Lok Sabha elections around Bhagwant Mann. You have to understand this subtle shift in stance. This shows that he has accepted that his candidates will lose their deposits. The AAP will finish fourth in Punjab. Just wait and watch." (ANI)