SAD to contest Haryana assembly polls

The Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday said it would also contest the forthcoming Haryana assembly polls.

A decision to this effect was taken at the party's core committee meeting, chaired by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal here.

Party's principal spokesperson Harcharan Singh Bains said the party has decided to hold a workers' meeting at Kurukshetra on September 22 and would also interview candidates interested in contesting elections.

He said a screening committee headed by Akali leader Balwinder Bhunder has been formed for this purpose.

He said all aspirants interested in contesting the elections have already been asked to submit their applications by September 22.

Bains said a committee headed by Bhunder will also hold negotiations with the BJP on seat sharing for the Haryana polls.

The other members of the committee for the Haryana poll campaign are Prem Singh Chandumajra and Surjit Singh Rakhra, he said, adding the committee will also prepare the party's election campaign strategy.

The SAD has an alliance with the BJP in Punjab.

In its core committee meeting, the SAD also passed two resolution -- one seeking release of Sikh prisoners, incarcerated beyond their terms and and other for promotion of Punjabi language.

In the first resolution, the SAD urged the government of India to order an immediate release of all Sikh prisoners who are languishing in different jails throughout the country despite having served their stipulated sentence.

The party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end the unjust and unconstitutional incarceration of the Sikh and other Punjabi prisoners through a special announcement on the eve of the 550th 'Parkash Utsav' of Guru Nanak Dev.

In another resolution, the SAD reiterated its "strong and principled commitment to the perseverance and promotion" of Punjabi language which forms a "proud part of the great cultural heritage bequeathed to the people of this region by the great Sikh Gurus".

"The party firmly believes that throughout the country, the regional languages serve as inalienable symbol of the rich multi-cultural character of our federal and democratic polity, said spokesman in a party release.

Meanwhile, the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal set up a campaign committees for Jalalabad and Dakha by-elections.

While former Cabinet minister and senior leader Janmeja Singh Sekhon will be the campaign in-charge for Jalalabad constituency, senior vice president Daljit Singh Cheema will head the panel for Dakha, said Bains.

The core committee, in its meeting, also mourned the demise of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and paid glowing tributes to him.