Sukhbir appeals to leaders who left SAD to rejoin, says ready to apologise

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday appealed to all leaders who had left his party in the last few years to rejoin, saying he was ready to apologise if he was at fault.

He made the statement after welcoming two Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members who had supported the candidature of Bibi Jagir Kaur in November last year for the post of president of the apex gurdwara body into the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

He welcomed the two SGPC members Harpal Singh Jalla from Payal and Amrik Singh Janaitpur from Ambala to the party fold, according to a party release here.

Badal said another 10 to 15 SGPC members who had supported Bibi Jagir Kaur would rejoin the SAD in the coming days.

The SAD chief also appealed to all leaders who had left the party during the last few years to rejoin the mother party.

"If I am at fault anywhere I apologise for the same but we must all unite to defeat the forces who want to weaken the 'Panth', " he asserted.

Many party leaders, including former Punjab Assembly speaker Charajit Singh Atwal and his son Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal and former MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son and former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, had left the Akali Dal.

While rejoining the SAD is a homecoming for Harpal Singh Jalla, the other SGPC member who joined the SAD was Amrik Singh Janaitpur an independent member.

Both members expressed their complete faith in the leadership of the SAD president and assured to work earnestly to strengthen the party at all levels, said the party statement.

Speaking on the occasion, Badal said earlier this week another SGPC member Harpreet Singh Garcha, along with his father and former minister Jagdish Singh Garcha, had rejoined the party.

"More members are in the process of rejoining the party", he said while asserting that the SGPC members had realised that Bibi Jagir Kaur was part of a "diabolic conspiracy" to weaken the 'panth' by dividing the Sikh community.

All members have decided to unite against these "anti-panthic forces", he added.