NEW DELHI: Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday backed the immediate implementation of the Constitution Amendment Bill, providing for women’s reservation, along with “fair and equitable” delimitation, a day after party president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In a post on X, Badal said the party draws inspiration from the Sikh Gurus, who championed the dignity, equality and equal rights of women.“The Shiromani Akali Dal, at a meeting of its senior leaders in Chandigarh today, demanded the immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the country. The Shiromani Akali Dal draws inspiration from the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, who championed the dignity, equality and equal rights of women. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has already set an example by providing for women’s reservation in its House,” Badal said.“After detailed deliberations on key issues before Parliament, the Shiromani Akali Dal also demanded a fair and equitable delimitation that ensures equal representation to all states. The Shiromani Akali Dal supported the proposal put forward by the Government of India on the floor of the House for a uniform 50 percent increase in the number of seats for all states. The party emphasised that women’s reservation and delimitation should be implemented immediately,” he added.The development comes amid speculation that Badal’s meeting with PM Modi could pave the way for the erstwhile allies to join hands again ahead of the Punjab assembly elections due early next year.The Akali Dal left the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over differences surrounding the Centre’s three farm laws, which were repealed in 2021.Once Punjab’s dominant political combine, the BJP and SAD have spent the past several years on the margins of state politics, watching their traditional support base erode as the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the state’s principal political force.Even after the Narendra Modi government repealed the laws in 2021, ties between the former allies remained strained.In the 2022 Punjab assembly elections, voters rejected both the Congress and the former allies, delivering a sweeping mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party.When asked about the possibility of the two parties stitching an alliance again, the state BJP chief said he could not say anything about it.Senior SAD leader and party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, when asked about what transpired at the meeting, told PTI, “I can only say that the two leaders have met.”
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Senior party leader Sikandar Singh Maluka told PTI that the current situation in Punjab demands a SAD-BJP alliance. He, however, clarified that it was his personal opinion and not that of the party.“If an alliance is to be stitched, what will be the conditions? Any decision on this will be taken after due deliberations in the party,” Maluka said, adding, “The sentiment of people is that SAD and BJP should form an alliance. This is not the party’s opinion but my own.”
