'Unholy' Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab is finalised, claims AAP

Chandigarh, Sep 16 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed on Saturday that the alliance between Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already been finalised in Punjab and they “are just waiting for a more suitable time to announce it”.

AAP termed this 'alliance' as “unholy”, saying that on one hand there “is a party responsible for the deaths of 750 farmers, and on the other hand there is a party which protected people responsible for sacrilege in Punjab”.

Addressing the media here, AAP chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang claimed that former Union minister and wife of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, initiated efforts to make the alliance possible and 15 days ago a meeting was held in Delhi where leaders of both parties were present to discuss terms.

According to Kang, the terms of the alliance have already been decided where the BJP “does not want SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and his brother-in-law Bikram Majithia to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections”.

He said the BJP “knows the obvious dislike the people of Punjab have for these two leaders”.

Kang added that under the table and behind the curtain, SAD and BJP were always one and never parted their ways.

He said during the farmers' protest, the Akali Dal only did 'drama' of breaking the alliance with the BJP to mislead the people.

“But the people of Punjab already hate both the parties and their alliance will only make people dislike them even more,” Kang said.

He said SAD and BJP “are a team but they are not announcing it to the public yet because they are scared of the ire that they will face from the people of Punjab”.

Kang also raised a few questions for the Akali Dal the answers of which the people would want to know -- Did SAD forgive the BJP for the deaths of 750 farmers? SAD says the BJP interferes in Sikh matters through Haryana and Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, did that stop now? And what about the Padma Vibhushan that late Parkash Singh Badal returned to show support to farmers' protest, will the Badal family accept that again?

Kang also questioned Harsimrat Kaur who signed the three farm laws at a Cabinet meeting of the BJP-led Central government.

He said the minutes of that Cabinet meeting were never made public because behind the curtain these two parties were always on each other's side.

Kang said this is an “unholy alliance that the people will never accept, but SAD has no ground left in Punjab and that is why it is trying to forge this alliance for a long time now”.

The BJP remained SAD’s ally for almost 25 years until 2020, when the Akalis broke away as a mark of protest against the now repealed three farm laws.

The BJP and the Akali Dal contested five consecutive Lok Sabha elections together in Punjab till 2019. The Akali Dal used to contest 10 seats, and the BJP on three out of the 13.

The SAD-BJP formed coalition government thrice in the state -- in 1997, 2007 and 2012.

Both parties contested the 2022 Punjab elections separately. The Akali Dal won three seats, down from 15 it had won in 2017, while the BJP won two seats.