Amarinder slams SAD for its 'double standards' on CAA, NRC

Slamming BJP's ally Shiromani Akali Dal for its "double standards" on the CAA and NRC, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday asked the party to clarify its stand on support to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The SAD had supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Parliament, but had since come out with conflicting statements on the new legislation, as well as the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Amarinder Singh said, lambasting the Akalis for allegedly misleading the people on these sensitive issues.

In the wake of the recent statements of SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Rajya Sabha member Naresh Gujral, seeking inclusion of Muslims in the CAA, the chief minister said it was patently obvious that the Akalis were playing a double game in the matter.

It was clear, he said, that the SAD leaders had decided to backtrack on their earlier stand in view of the public protests triggered by CAA.

"This was not the first time the Akalis had shown such dual standards with regard to their relations with the BJP," the chief minister said, pointing to the SAD's support to Om Prakash Chautala's INLD in the Haryana Assembly elections even while continuing to be a part of the NDA.

In fact, even while siding with the INLD in Haryana, the SAD had allied with the BJP in Punjab, where by-elections were being held at the same time in a couple of constituencies, Amarinder Singh said in a statement here.

"It was time the SAD clarified its stand on the alliance with the NDA, he said, adding that the people wanted to know whether the Akalis favoured BJP's "divisive and hardline" ideology on key issues, including those that affect the Constitutional principles and values.

"The people are no longer willing to be fooled by the SAD's dual standards and misleading statements," he said.

"Such contradictory stands and statements had exposed the fact that the Akalis were only interested in promoting their vested political interests, and had no ideological principles on any issue of national importance,"he added.