The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was insulting Punjabis by asserting that they were not fit to govern themselves and wanted to foster outsiders on them which would never be tolerated.

Addressing a Press conference after the conclusion of the meeting of the party’s core committee, the senior leadership announced that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal was projecting himself as the savior of Punjab. “Even party tickets are being sold with a breakaway faction of
AAP giving proof of sale of 35 party tickets”. Punjabis are a proud community and they will never stomach the imposition of outsiders like
Raghav Chadha in the same manner in which they rejected the duo of Durgesh Pathak and Sanjay Singh in 2017,” the SAD said.

The senior leaders including Prof Prem Singh Chandumarja, Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Sikandar Singh Maluka, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said earlier also Kejriwal had insulted Punjabi leaders including Suchha Singh Chhotepur, HS Phoolka and Sukhpal Khaira.

“Now since the last six months he is making Bhagwant Mann beg to be anointed the chief ministerial face of the party,” they said.

The leaders of Kejriwal had also insulted farmers’ organisations as well as their leader Balbir Singh Rajewal. “AAP first started negotiations with the farmer organisations and even indicated it was amenable to Rajewal being projected as its chief ministerial face.

However, lately Kejriwal has insulted even Rajewal by stating that he had got two surveys done which had made it clear that Rajewal as well as the farmers’ organizations would draw a blank,” they said.

Prof Chandumajra and Bhundur also alleged AAP and its Delhi CM had consistently taken an anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab stance. “The AAP government had approached the Supreme Court to call for diversion of the waters of Punjab to Haryana and Delhi. The AAP government has also called for closing down the thermal plants of Punjab in the apex court besides calling for registering criminal cases against farmers for
stubble burning,” they said.

The leaders also pointed out how the Delhi government had refused to install a statute of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in the national capital.

They also related the plight of the youth of the state who were mistreated in the Tihar jail when incarcerated there in connection with the farmers’ protests.

Grewal asked Kejriwal to clarify if the AAP party’s leader of opposition Harpal Cheema was unfit to be declared the chief ministerial face solely because he belonged to the scheduled caste community. He also detailed how AAP had betrayed the farmers’ agitation by promising support but refusing to extend any when asked.