SAD leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa joins BJP, resigns as Delhi gurudwara body chief

Since the farmers' protest started at Delhi’s borders, Manjinder Singh Sirsa had been speaking against the BJP for its stand on the issue. The DSGMC also ran a langar at the protest sites for almost a year.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The former Rajouri Garden MLA joined the party in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. At the party office on DDU Marg later, he was joined by Union ministers Gajendra Shekhawat and Dharmendra Pradhan.

Sirsa has also resigned as the president of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee. Sharing his resignation on Twitter, the Sikh leader stated, “I will not contest upcoming DSGMC internal elections. My commitment to serve my community, humanity and nation remains same!”

Speaking about his decision, Sirsa said he resigned because he “did not want to give off the impression that by joining BJP, I am trying to save the position of President of the DSGMC.”

“There are several issues affecting the Sikhs across the country. We always look towards governments who can solve issues. I have always spoken about Sikh issues and will continue to do so… I spoke to Amit Shah ji about several of these issues. I was very happy that he also made me speak to the Prime Minister and they said they want to solve these issues… I did not want to give off the impression that by joining BJP, I am trying to save the position of President of the DSGMC and that is why I resigned before joining. I will serve the Sikh cause with dedication,” Sirsa said after joining BJP.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, who was also present at the party office on Wednesday, said that Sirsa has been vocal about issues regarding Sikhs. “He thinks that a lot of their issues can get solved with the help of Centre and that is a good thing. His politics has been centred on Delhi and he now has a big platform which he can use for the welfare of Sikh community,” he said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal had parted ways with the BJP nationally over the three farm laws.

Problem between the two parties in Delhi, however, started brewing much earlier, with SAD, and Sirsa, not contesting the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls over the exclusion of Muslims from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

“We welcome CAA but we never demanded any religion to be excluded… During our meeting with the BJP, we were repeatedly asked to reconsider our stand on CAA but we declined to do so. Shiromani Akali Dal is of the firm stand that Muslims cannot be left out of CAA. We are also strongly against the NRC,” Sirsa had said.

Since the farmers’ protest started at Delhi’s borders, Sirsa had been speaking against the BJP for its stand on the issue. The DSGMC also ran a langar at the protest sites for almost a year.

Source: Read Full Article