Patiala, Aug 11 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Monday said Giani Harpeet Singh defied the Akal Takht’s December 2024 edict, which had specifically ordered against the setting up of breakaway factions to weaken the party.

Akal Takht’s former acting Jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh, was unanimously elected as President of the SAD breakaway faction at an election conducted by the Akal Takht-constituted five-member committee in Amritsar.

Responding to his election, Badal said: “The whole world knows that Harpreet Singh has entered into a conspiracy with anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab Central agencies to divide and weaken the Khalsa Panth, Punjab, and the Akali Dal in league with the disgruntled elements.”

“Everybody saw how fulfilled this conspiracy even after I had bowed my head before Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and owned full responsibility for any wrong done by anyone during the Akali government. My total surrender before Sri Akali Takhat Sahib had no meaning for him,” he said, addressing the party’s sit-in protest against the ‘land grabbing scheme’ of the state government here.

Asserting that he did not want to talk about the activities of Giani Harpreet Singh and the latter’s local supporters like Prem Singh Chandumajra and Surjit Singh Rakhra but was doing so to let Punjabis know the truth, the SAD President said: “Giani Harpreet summoned me as well as the Akali leadership as part of a script with the sole aim of throwing me out of the ‘panth’. A tailor-made complaint was also procured to fulfil this mission.”

Taking on the AAP government, Badal announced that his SAD would not allow even one inch of the 65,000 acres of land slated for acquisition to be acquired by the government. He repeated that any piece of land forcibly grabbed would be restored to the owners when the SAD would form a government in 2027.

He also warned farmers that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who had taken over the reins of the state government and had sealed a Rs 30,000-crore deal with Delhi builders to undertake the present acquisition, was only testing the waters and would go on to acquire another one lakh acres of land if not stopped immediately.

“This is not the end of their land grab assault. They plan to acquire another one lakh acres if they are not stopped in their tracks now,” he alleged.

–IANS

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