Former Punjab Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra joins AAP

Former Punjab minister Surjit Singh Rakhra joined the Aam Aadmi Party in Patiala in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Rakhra cited the anti-sacrilege law as a key reason for leaving the Akali fold and aligning with the ruling party

Patiala: Former Punjab minister Surjit Singh Rakhra joined the Aam Aadmi Party in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here on Saturday. Mann welcomed him into the party at a public gathering held in Samana. His family and several supporters also joined the Aam Aadmi Party with him.

At the event, Mann said, “May 16 will be remembered as a significant day in Punjab’s political history, as a clean and respected personality dedicated to public service has joined the AAP family.” The chief minister said Rakhra had every opportunity to focus on expanding his business and personal interests, but he chose the path of serving common people.

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“I thank the entire Rakhra family and all their supporters for joining the AAP Punjab family. Sometimes leaders have to rise above personal interests and work for the welfare of the state, society and future generations,” he said.

Rakhra had been one of the more prominent faces of the Shiromani Akali Dal for many years. During the previous Akali governments in Punjab, he handled important ministries, including revenue and rehabilitation, and was considered among the close confidants of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.

However, due to differences within the party, particularly with Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Rakhra distanced himself from the party and later joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit). After Rakhra expressed his intention to join the AAP a few days ago, the Giani Harpreet Singh-led breakaway Akali faction suspended him from the party.

Rakhra is a two-time MLA from the Samana Assembly constituency in Patiala, which is currently represented by AAP legislator Chetan Singh Jouramajra. Rakhra is the younger brother of US-based businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal. In his address, Mann said Rakhra repeatedly tried to reform the Shiromani Akali Dal from within, but the party had “gone astray and fallen into the wrong hands.” The people had already rejected the Akali leadership because of their role in ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) incidents and anti-people politics, he alleged.

“Leaders who once claimed they would rule Punjab for 25 years are now left without even 25 people in the party,” he took a dig at the Badal-led Akali Dal. Mann said that the Shiromani Akali Dal has “weakened” to such an extent that even forming committees has become difficult for them.

Meanwhile, Rakhra thanked Mann for his induction in the party and ascribed the anti-sacrilege law behind his move to change factions. “My decision to leave the Shiromani Akali Dal was directly linked to the issue of ‘beadbi’ and the newly enacted anti-beadbi law,” he said.

“For nearly one and a half years, I regularly visited the Samana Morcha, where Gurjeet Singh Khalsa had been protesting atop a 400-foot tower demanding strict legislation against beadbi. I strongly felt that such a law was necessary,” he said. Rakhra said he had promised Mann he would join AAP if he passed an anti-sacrilege law.

He said that previous governments failed to enact an effective law against sacrilege because of a lack of political will, which the Mann government did not. “Once the law was passed, I had to honour my commitment,” he said. Rakhra also praised the AAP government’s work on expanding canal water infrastructure.