 |
| Paramjit Singh Sarna said Panthic Morcha got 34 per cent votes in SGPC polls |
Thu Sep 29 2011, Ludhiana: Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has won the SGPC elections only on the basis of patit votes — had they been cancelled, the result would have been different altogether, said SAD (Delhi) national president Paramjit Singh Sarna in Ludhiana on Wednesday.
Sarna was in the city to honour the party’s 52 candidates for the elections, who had contested from Panthic Morcha.
While justifying the defeat of most candidates, Sarna said: “If we leave the 20 constituencies where the winning margin was more than 20,000 votes, in the rest, while our candidates got 15 lakh votes, SAD (B) got 16 lakh. So, we got about 34 per cent votes (excluding the 20 heavy margin constituencies) while SAD (B) got 37 per cent votes. Out of the 1.75 crore actual Sikh voters, we got 7 per cent votes in the whole state. Patit Sikhs favoured Badal. So, alarm bells are ringing for him.”
Jaswinder Singh Baliawal, Punjab president of SAD (Delhi), said: “The elections were won by using drugs, liquor and money. So, we do not trust the Election Commission as well. Now, we are busy with our next action plan. This was a rehearsal, it is clear that the people do not like SAD (B).”
He added: “Whoever will defeat Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the upcoming Assembly elections, we will support him.”
The party plans to organise district level dharnas against the alleged malpractices in October.
Centre’s SGPC notification a ‘colourable exercise’: Haryana
In a significant development, the Haryana government on Wednesday termed the notification issued by the Centre, barring Sehajdhari Sikhs from casting votes in Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) elections, as a colourable exercise. Arguing on behalf of the Haryana government, Advocate General Hawa Singh Hooda contended that it was out of the domain of the central government to issue such a notification. The averments were made during the resumed hearing of a bunch of petitions seeking voting rights for Sehajdhari Sikhs in SGPC elections. The central government, as directed by the High Court, presented before the court the copy of the notification issued on October 8, 2003 and other relevant records. The counsel for Union government will argue the case on Thursday.