Ex-SGPC chief Jagir Kaur returns to SAD fold

Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Jagir Kaur rejoined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the presence of party chief Sukhbir Badal at Begowal village in Kapurthala district on Thursday, more than a year after she was expelled for alleged ‘anti-party’ activities.

Jagir Kaur, who has remained SGPC chief in 1999, 2004 and 2020, said she was an Akali by birth.

“I was an Akali and will remain an Akali, always,” she said asserting that she would continue to work in the religious sphere and do her best to strengthen the SGPC.

She was expelled from the party in November 2022 when she stuck to her stand of contesting the SGPC presidential poll, which she eventually lost to SAD nominee Harjinder Singh Dhami.

The development came days after Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa merged his Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) with the Akali Dal amid the buzz of a SAD-BJP reunion. The Akalis had quit the NDA in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws.

Besides Sukhbir, other senior leaders including Daljit Singh Cheema, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Surjit Singh Rakhra were present at Begowal to re-induct Jagir Kaur.

Welcoming Jagir Kaur, Sukhbir said he had earlier also invited her to rejoin the party with folded hands and he was thankful to her for acceding to his request.

“My relations with Bibi ji have always been that of a family member. Only when we are united, can we thwart the attempts being made to weaken the SGPC and Sikh institutions,” Sukhbir said.

Later, while replying to a question, the former deputy chief minister said SAD is going to contest from 13 Lok Sabha seats independently as of now but didn’t debunk queries on possible alliance with BJP ahead of parliamentary polls.

“We are open for any sort of alliance with like-minded parties, which work for the welfare of the state. We have already initiated a poll campaign with Punjab Bachao Yatra, and the announcement pertaining to candidates will be made soon,” Sukhbir said.

Sukhbir said AAP would be the loser in all 13 Lok Sabha seats and said the very fact that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was now contesting elections in the name of chief minister Bhagwant Mann indicated that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal knew that the party was in a ‘downward spiral’.

“It seems Kejriwal knows that this time Punjabis will not give him a chance, and that is why he is putting the onus for ensuring his party’s forthcoming parliamentary victory on Bhagwant Mann,” he said.

Answering another query on CAA, Badal said the SAD had been maintaining all along that nearly two lakh Sikhs, who had fled Afghanistan and Pakistan should be given citizenship. “This is finally happening, and we welcome it.”

Sukhbir also asserted the Punjab Bachao Yatra was getting an unprecedented response.

“Punjabis have lost all faith in the corrupt, scam-tainted AAP regime and want to get rid of it as soon as possible,” he said.

He alleged the AAP government did not have a single infrastructure project to its credit in the last two years. “In direct contrast, Punjab witnessed all-round development during the SAD tenures,” he added. Later, former health official Dr Lakhbir Singh also joined SAD in Sukhbir’s presence.