Dal Khalsa asks Akalis to oppose PM on July 22

Amritsar, Jul 19 (UNI) Even as Sikh leaders in India and abroad are asking the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to vote in favour of Sikh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 22, the Dal Khalsa, a hardline Sikh group expressed its opposition to the nuclear deal.

In a statement issued here today, Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh and senior executive members, H S Dhami and Dr Manjinder Singh said that the Sikh leadership should oppose the deal as it was against the interests of Punjab as it would trigger a nuclear race "on our doorsteps".

They pointed out that for Akalis, the interest of the Sikhs should be paramount. " There was a question of survival of Sikh people as they are sandwiched between two arch nuclear rivals, which had fought three wars in the past", the statement added.

The statement urged SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to oppose the nuclear deal in Parliament on July 22.

The Dal Khalsa leaders expressed their disagreement with those who were advocating a vote in favour of the UPA merely on the basis that Dr Singh, an architect of the deal, was a first Sikh Prime Minister.

"This argument is just emotional that hardly carries any weight as Dr Singh has done nothing special or extra for Punjab and the Sikh community in his four and a half year stint as PM", the leaders stated.

Similarly, taking a dig at chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, they said the set positioning of SAD to toe the NDA line blindly was too fraught with danger. They urged the Akali leadership to put forth their independent views on the nuke deal visa vis Punjab in Parliament on July 22.

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