Justifying the decision of not contesting the Delhi Assembly polls, the SAD on Wednesday said it was the BJP”s wish whether they wanted to take them along or not.
The party said they wanted to contest the elections in alliance with the BJP but were left with only two options–either to reconsider the stance over the amended citizenship act or decide against contesting the polls.
The SAD had announced on Monday in Delhi that it would not contest the polls next month after it was asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party to change its stand on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
However, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday made it clear that its alliance with the saffron party in Punjab was intact.
“Our party wanted to go ahead with them (BJP). But it was their wish whether they wanted to take us along or not. Therefore, the local (Delhi) unit which took a decision under those circumstances was right,” SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said while talking to media here after the core committee meeting of the party.
SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who was also present in the meeting, said the party was fully prepared to contest Delhi Assembly elections.
Sirsa, however, said the Akali Dal was asked to reconsider its stand on the CAA.
“We always said that the Muslim community be included in the CAA but the BJP on this issue said there was resentment among their workers and leaders over their (SAD) stand and they should reconsider it,” Sirsa said.
“Then two options were left, either we reconsider our stand over the CAA or decide against contesting the polls,” said Sirsa, adding that the party went for the second option instead of “deviating” from their ideology.
Replying to a question, former state minister Daljit Cheema said, “The alliance between both parties (SAD and BJP) is intact in Punjab.”
“We had authorised our Delhi unit to take whatever decision they feel is right,” said Cheema while supporting the Delhi unit”s decision of not contesting the elections.
The core committee of the SAD also reiterated that it supports the Citizenship Amendment Act to the extent that it protects the interests of the Sikh community but wanted that the legislation be amended to widen its ambit so that Muslims are included in it.
A resolution passed at a special meeting of the committee chaired by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal here said, “We support the Act in as far as it grants protection and safeguards to the Sikhs and several other communities, including the Hindus.”
“But in its present form, the Act falls short of being inclusive and secular and to that extent it goes against the core ideals bequeathed to us by the great Guru Sahiban, saints and seers down the ages as it discriminates against a significant minority in the country, the Muslims. We want the Act to be amended to remove that discrimination,” the resolution read.
The discrimination on religious grounds runs against the core beliefs of the great Hindu religion, which regards the whole world as one family, it further said.
The SAD claims to have a following in many Sikh-dominated seats like Kalkaji, Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar and Rajouri Garden in Delhi.
It has been traditionally fighting on four of the 70 seats — Shahdara, Kalkaji, Rajouri Garden and Hari Nagar — in alliance with the BJP.
In 2013, the SAD had won three of the four seats, but failed to win even one seat in the 2015 election.
