Then an
Akali, a wild-eyed, wild-haired Sikh devotee in the blue-checked clothes of his faith, with polished-steel quoits glistening on the cone of his tall blue turban, stalked past, returning from a visit to one of the independent Sikh States, where he had been singing the ancient glories of the Khalsa to College-trained princelings in top-boots and white-cord breeches.
Interestingly, the chances of the
Akalis retaining power depends upon how the BJP fares.
Amarinder, who is Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, accused the BJP of adopting dual standards by supporting and opposing the
Akalis at the same time and announced the party will hold a public rally at Amritsar on January 22 against the alleged misrule of the Akali- BJP government.
Capt Amarinder also pointed out that Jaitley has obviously tried to indicate that while the
Akalis exclusively represent the Sikh community the BJP exclusively represents the Hindu community.
The
Akalis which rule neighbouring Punjab will contest two seats as junior partners of the INLD in Haryana.
With the ruling Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) blaming the BSF for not doing enough to stop the alleged cross-border drugs smuggling from Pakistan, rival Congress has accused the
Akalis of demeaning the border guards.
However, he pointed out, it was Badal,
Akalis and now the BJP who for their partisan interests were raising the issues Punjab otherwise wanted to put behind.
The former Chief Minister said the
Akalis had pushed Punjab into drug addiction and had ruined almost an entire generation.
He also said the BJP in Punjab cannot wriggle out even if it parts ways with the
Akalis because they have been partners for a long time.
Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Friday clarified that her husband wouldn't be coming to Amritsar to campaign for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jailtey's campaigns, given his strained relations with the
Akalis.
In its report submitted to party in-charge Shanta Kumar on Wednesday, the panel blamed the
Akalis for the NDA's poor show in Punjab.
The senior Congress leader also had a dig at the
Akalis, the self professed and proclaimed patrons of Mr Jaitely, saying that they were trying to show themselves to be more loyal than the king.