Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], November 16 (ANI): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal welcomed former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur back into the party's fold. He issued a broad appeal for organisational reconciliation, stating that Kaur's joining will greatly strengthen the party.
Marking Kaur's official return to the party ranks, Badal, in a post on X, highlighted the strategic value of her homecoming and extended an invitation to other members to realign with the party.
"I warmly welcome Bibi Jagir Kaur Ji into the Shiromani Akali Dal. Her joining will greatly strengthen the party and prove very beneficial in realising our goals. I extend a heartfelt appeal to all those who, for any reason, had distanced themselves from the party, to return to their own home," Badal wrote on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Badal launched a sharp critique of the state administration's handling of public safety following the tragic collision involving state-run pilgrimage vehicles.
Condemning the deployment of ageing transport for senior citizens, Badal alleged negligence and demanded criminal accountability.
"Together, we will strengthen our mother organisation that has always worked for the betterment of Punjab, our community and the Panth. The government today does not lack money, it lacks the right intentions. Elderly pilgrims are being sent in 12- to 13-year-old, worn-out buses. Those responsible for putting lives at risk must face a criminal case. Every rupee of public money will be recovered and no one, neither @BhagwantMann nor Arvind Kejriwal, will escape accountability," Badal stated.
As this happened, Badal asserted that the Akali Dal was the "only option to save Punjab" while mounting a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over focus on publicity, rising state debt and safety issues in buses under the state's pilgrimage scheme.
Addressing a gathering in Bholath on a day when Bibi Jagir Kaur rejoined the party, Badal said the SAD has always respected all religions and worked for the welfare of every section of society.
Recalling the tenure of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he stated that special welfare schemes had been introduced for all communities during the SAD regime, alleging that successive Congress and AAP governments discontinued several public-interest facilities.
Targeting CM Mann, Badal said, "The present dispensation had prioritised advertisements and self-promotion over governance and public welfare. He claimed that Mann had not even attended the Chief Minister's Office properly and accused the government of relying solely on publicity to project achievements.
The SAD chief further alleged that Punjab's mounting debt was the result of the Mann government's "unclear intentions" and preference for advertisements over development work.
Questioning the state government's Tirath Yatra Yojana, Badal alleged that "unfit buses" were being operated under the scheme, putting elderly pilgrims at risk and resulting in fatalities and injuries.
He also claimed that a bus operating under the pilgrimage scheme narrowly avoided colliding with his convoy on Sunday.
Promising to restore discontinued welfare programmes if voted to power, Badal said, "An Akali Dal government would relaunch the Atta-Dal scheme along with cattle fairs, development grants, and other public welfare measures. He also pledged strict action against drug trafficking and gangsterism in the state".
Speaking on Bibi Jagir Kaur's return to the party fold, the SAD president said, "Appointing her as the mukhya sevadar (constituency incharge) of the Bholath assembly segment would unite Akali leaders and significantly strengthen the party's grassroots base across the Doaba region".
Responding to a question regarding the selection of the SGPC president, Badal noted that Bibi Jagir Kaur is an SGPC member and maintained that the decision on who heads the apex Sikh gurdwara body rests with SGPC members.
Bibi Jagir Kaur formally rejoined the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD in Kapurthala district after quitting the breakaway SAD (Punar Surjit). (ANI)
SAD chief Sukhbir Badal welcomes Bibi Jagir Kaur back into party fold
