Chandigarh, May 4: Amidst desertion by several party workers and local leaders in district units, and reports of fuelling rebellion within Shiromani Akali Dal, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday dissolved the organisational structure of the party.
The party dissolved its parliamentary affairs committee (PAC), working committee, various wings, general council and district-level committees, while all office-bearers have been removed. The new committees will be formed within a month, after the senior most Akali leaders meet workers at the grassroot level and take feedback on who they would want to lead.
Though the party leaders deny any desertions or a brewing rebellion, sources say there were attempts by some SGPC members, along with some Akali leaders from Rajpura and Patiala, to break away from the party. These leaders were reportedly also supported by some other extreme right-wing Sikh bodies.
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Other than this, the party has witnessed a spate of resignations at the ground level, where many of their men have switched loyalties to the Congress. Many of the former Congress workers and leaders, who had jumped on to the Akali bandwagon during their rule, too, are learnt to be planning to go back to their parent party.
Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, denied that there was any desertion or a rebellion. “We have simply decided to remove the deadwood from the party and people who opposed our official candidates during the Assembly election. Whosoever harmed the party cannot be entrusted the responsibility of leading the party now.”
He said the original Akalis continued to remain loyal to the party, while it is the “riff raff” and “imports” that were breaking away. The idea behind the revamp of the party’s organisation is also to reward the party loyalists, he said.
Source: tribuneindia.com
