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Akali Dal to vote against UPA government: Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

CHANDIGARH: Refuting all speculations, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh Badal has said that all the eight MPs from the party would vote against the “Congress led UPA” government at the Centre, when it seeks the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He ruled out any scope of abstention by even a “single MP” at this crucial moment.

Mr. Singh was talking to ‘The Hindu’ over the phone from Delhi after chairing an important party meeting at his official residence. Scoffing all talk about the divisions within the party over the issue of “saving the first Sikh Prime Minister,” he said that the party stood like rock behind the Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. “Even when there was no need to, the Shiromani Akali Dal issued a whip to all its MPs to be present in the House when the motion for Vote of Confidence is moved on Tuesday and vote against it. This was done to put to rest all speculations,” Mr Singh emphasised.

Mr. Singh said that the party’s top leadership had already explained that vote of confidence and the N-deal were separate issues. “Those Sikh leaders who were advising us to support the Congress led UPA stood exposed. It is now evident who all were the black sheep when the Congress had unleashed genocide, targeting the Sikhs, during the period of terrorism in Punjab,” he said responding to appeals from various splinter Akali factions, Sikh groups and some diaspora organisations.

Mr Singh said that the UPA government was forced to face this test after its staunchest allies the Left Front found it difficult to follow the Congress programme. “The problem is at their end not ours,” he said and added that the present government at the Centre had no right to continue as it betrayed the “aam admi” (common man) by failing to control the rising prices of essential commodities. He said that UPA government framed rules to deny Punjab its due share, especially in decisions related to the farm sector, despite the State returning a record foodgrains procurement. “The policy of squeezing Punjab was followed by this government too,” he added.

Meanwhile through a statement, former president of the Punjab unit of the BJP, Avinash Rai Khanna, who represents the Hoshiarpur seat in Lok Sabha said that it would be a pity that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would sit outside the House while the fate of his government was being decided upon through a crucial voting on a motion. Criticising the UPA for its desperate attempts to save its face over the N-deal, Mr Khanna was confident that the government would face its waterloo on the floor of the House.

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