Ajay Bharadwaj

Chandigarh: Akali Dal and the BJP have reluctantly decided to beat their swords into ploughshares in Punjab. Ever since the alliance came to power last year, this is the first time it has experienced such acute stress. Senior BJP leaders candidly put the blame for the recent poll violence on chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s son Sukhbir Singh Badal.

They say it was Sukhbir who had commanded his party workers to prevent BJP leaders from finding their feet in the on-going civic elections.

As a result, the elections witnessed violent clashes between the two party workers at more than a dozen places.

All the five BJP cabinet ministers who had tendered their resignations to protest the Akali offensive, retracted them on Tuesday, but only after the CM announced he too would quit if BJP pulled out.

During the marathon fourhour talks with Punjab CM, BJP ministers, accompanied by Navjot Sidhu, MP, and Balbir Punj, BJP’s national secretary, took Badal and other senior Akali leaders to task, expressing strong resentment at the violent behaviour of some Akali leaders.

“Akali leaders seem to be targeting BJP more than the Congress,” said Punj.

BJP leaders were so agitated that at one point they resolved resign from the Cabinet and support the Akali government from outside. In an attempt to mollify them, the CM promised to suspend an SP and a DSP in Tarn Taran for alleged dereliction of duty and announced to transfer both the deputy commissioner and the SSP for their failure to take prompt action against rioting Akali workers.

Badal announced that Border Range IG, RP Meena will conduct an inquiry into the incidents in various parts of the state.

Punj then ruled out any threat to the Akali Dal-BJP coalition, but apprised the top BJP leadership including party president Rajnath Singh and LK Advani of the situation.

BJP sources said at a meeting held late Wednesday evening in Delhi, BJP leader LK Advani had given a goahead to the Punjab leadership to move to rural areas with renewed vigour.

He told BJP leaders that if Akali leaders can contest elections in municipal committees and corporations in the state, why BJP leaders should not contest elections of zila parishads and panchayat samitis.

Source : DNA