JALANDHAR: Former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa has not only denied Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s claim that he was forced to join. BJP But it also questioned that if the Akali Dal chief knew that he was being pressurized then why did he not raise his voice about it and ran for his help. Sirsa said that during an open discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah late on November 30, he asked him to join the BJP as the central government was inclined to resolve the issues of Sikhs.
“If they knew that I was being pressurized then why did they not rush to save me, and if they did not speak for a person like me then how can others trust that the party will keep them safe. The real reason for this claim of waving hands is because it is the only reasonable excuse they can give,” Sirsa told TOI on Sunday.
When asked that Badal had also shown the printout of a WhatsApp message of him (Sirsa) fearing FIR and arrest, Sirsa denied that he had sent any such message to Sukhbir and asked, “Do I really I needed to send her a message, I don’t talk to her? They were not a fresh FIR against me.”
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh also claimed that he was forced to join the BJP, with Sirsa saying he would not comment on the high priest.
“I had gone to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on the night of 30 November on the issue of Afghanistan Sikhs, on which I had met him a few days back as well. When I was thanking him wholeheartedly for his quick response on this issue, he asked me to join the BJP. He told me that he has worked on all the issues of Sikhs which were brought to him but still we did not cooperate fully and now he wants to work on other issues also. They asked me to bring the community issues and they were ready to solve. When I mentioned about the DSGMC, he was very clear that he had absolutely no intention of interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikhs.
Sirsa said that as the discussion escalated, he stayed with the Union Home Minister for about three hours and had dinner there. “I left at midnight and then I quickly made up my mind to join the BJP after resigning from the DSGMC,” Sirsa said.
Sirsa, once a key figure of Sukhbir Singh Badal in Delhi, also claimed that the Akali Dal was not in a position to do anything good for the Sikhs and was only concerned about power in Punjab. He also argued that the SAD should let the Sikhs out Punjab To decide his own politics. “Once the Akali Dal used to represent the entire community, but now they are confined to Punjab only and that too mainly to the SGPC,” he said.
“They could not solve any issue of Sikhs outside Punjab and they do not even understand them. They will trade the interests of Sikhs outside Punjab according to their political interests in Punjab,” argued Sirsa.
“If they knew that I was being pressurized then why did they not rush to save me, and if they did not speak for a person like me then how can others trust that the party will keep them safe. The real reason for this claim of waving hands is because it is the only reasonable excuse they can give,” Sirsa told TOI on Sunday.
When asked that Badal had also shown the printout of a WhatsApp message of him (Sirsa) fearing FIR and arrest, Sirsa denied that he had sent any such message to Sukhbir and asked, “Do I really I needed to send her a message, I don’t talk to her? They were not a fresh FIR against me.”
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh also claimed that he was forced to join the BJP, with Sirsa saying he would not comment on the high priest.
“I had gone to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on the night of 30 November on the issue of Afghanistan Sikhs, on which I had met him a few days back as well. When I was thanking him wholeheartedly for his quick response on this issue, he asked me to join the BJP. He told me that he has worked on all the issues of Sikhs which were brought to him but still we did not cooperate fully and now he wants to work on other issues also. They asked me to bring the community issues and they were ready to solve. When I mentioned about the DSGMC, he was very clear that he had absolutely no intention of interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikhs.
Sirsa said that as the discussion escalated, he stayed with the Union Home Minister for about three hours and had dinner there. “I left at midnight and then I quickly made up my mind to join the BJP after resigning from the DSGMC,” Sirsa said.
Sirsa, once a key figure of Sukhbir Singh Badal in Delhi, also claimed that the Akali Dal was not in a position to do anything good for the Sikhs and was only concerned about power in Punjab. He also argued that the SAD should let the Sikhs out Punjab To decide his own politics. “Once the Akali Dal used to represent the entire community, but now they are confined to Punjab only and that too mainly to the SGPC,” he said.
“They could not solve any issue of Sikhs outside Punjab and they do not even understand them. They will trade the interests of Sikhs outside Punjab according to their political interests in Punjab,” argued Sirsa.
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