SAD head Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Thursday that his party is the “voice of Punjab” and that prospective BJP members should have their DNA tested.
Following the induction of social activist professor Sumrinder Singh Sira, a state BJP executive member, into the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Badal was giving a speech to a group.
Without mentioning names, Badal said, “Those who are joining the BJP should have their DNA tested.”
Hours after SAD politician Sikandar Singh Maluka’s son Gurpreet Singh Maluka and daughter-in-law Parampal Kaur Sidhu joined the BJP in Delhi, with national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, his remark was made.
A few days ago, Sidhu, an IAS official from the 2011 batch, submitted her resignation.
Badal urged the audience to vote for SAD in the Lok Sabha elections during his speech.
“SAD is the voice of Punjab, the voice of the ‘qaum’ (community), and it is a 103-year-old party,” said Badal, who also stated that the goal of his organization was to combat injustice rather than to dominate the populace.
Attacking opposition parties, Badal said that national parties—particularly the BJP, the Congress, and the AAP—are just concerned with retaining power and have no interest in carrying out any development work.
He said that all Delhi-based party units submit to their higher leadership and urged the people of the state to “seal the borders of Punjab with their votes to prevent Delhi-based parties from making inroads in the state.”
The president of the SAD attacked the BJP administration in Haryana, saying it had used “force” against the farmers and prevented them from traveling to Delhi to support their demands.
He said that the forces of Delhi and Punjabis, who had all supposedly suffered at the hands of the Delhi-based parties, were engaged in combat during the parliamentary elections.
Badal also claimed that two years before, Punjabi leaders of Delhi-based parties such as the BJP had taken a stance against the farmers’ uprising.
Parallel to this, the Punjabi AAP government has now adopted a “anti-farmers” stance and permitted the Haryana Police to use force against farmers.