Chandigarh: President of Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) and former Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that in the scheduled meeting of NDA, he will strongly put a demand to resolve long pending issues of Sikh Panth and Punjab.
Dhindsa said that the Centre should resolve those issues related to Punjab and Panth for which the Shiromani Akali Dal has been struggling for a long time. He said that Senior Vice President of SAD (Sanyukt) Justice Nirmal Singh (retired) will also attend the meeting with him.
He said that in this meeting his party’s emphasis will be laid on highlighting the fact that the NDA while making the programme should at least pay emphasis on the well-being of the people of Punjab, promoting mutual brotherhood of the Hindu Sikh community and safeguarding cultural, social and political fabric.
“The demand regarding the release of Bandi Singhs who have completed their sentences in jails, removal of the names of immigrant Punjabis from the black list, holding early elections of SGPC, issue of Punjab capital Chandigarh, waving off the debts incurred by Punjab, the opening of Wagah border for trade, will also be raised in the meeting said Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
He further said that apart from these issues, demand will also be made regarding an additional economic package to compensate for the damage caused due to flooding in the state.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that the fundamental motive of Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) is to solve the rightful issues of Panth and Punjab by putting aside personal interests. He said that in the country’s freedom, Punjabi and especially the Sikhs have made an invaluable contribution, but the governments of the time did not appreciate the supreme sacrifices made by the Punjabis and the Sikhs.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said that these demands have been pending for several decades. The wounds given by the Congress government to the Sikhs and Punjab can never be forgotten, he said.
Dhindsa also expressed the hope that the NDA government at the Center would accept the long pending demands of the Sikhs and work to heal the wounds inflicted by the Congress.
