No possibility of SAD-BJP pact in future: Union minister Puri
Union minister Hardeep Puri on Friday said he does not see any possibility of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal alliance in future.
Jalandhar
Union minister Hardeep Puri on Friday said he does not see any possibility of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) alliance in future.
Puri was in Jalandhar to hold meetings with BJP workers ahead of the May 10 Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.
Addressing the press conference, Puri said the BJP is still expanding as a party in Punjab as many leaders from other parties are joining BJP due to its vision for 2024.
“We have committed a few mistakes while remaining in coalition with the SAD, but now we will set the system as per the BJP’s values, which is ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, in Punjab,” Puri said, ruling out the possibility of a pact with the SAD.
“I always opposed the coalition with the Akali Dal because out of 117 assembly segments, the BJP was limited to only 23 seats. Moreover, some of the actions and positions taken by the Akali Dal then always remained counterproductive for the BJP, therefore there are no possibilities of any coalition with the SAD,” he said.
The Union minister said the BJP was in coalition with SAD as a junior partner and decisions taken during SAD-BJP government in Punjab were not ours but were solely taken by the SAD.
On Jalandhar byelection, he said the party is working hard and its booth-level workers are leaving no stone unturned see party candidate victorious. The BJP has fielded Akali turncoat and former MLA Inder Iqbal Atwal for the Jalandhar bypoll.
