Longowal: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the breakaway SAD (Punar Surjit) on Thursday held competing rallies to mark the 41st death anniversary of former SAD president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in Sangrur.The political standoff centered on venue allocation, with both factions trading sharp accusations during their events. SAD (Punar Surjit) functionaries accused SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal of transforming the 105-year-old party into a personal fiefdom.In response, SAD alleged SAD (Punar Surjit) was working at the behest of enemies with the sole aim of weakening the 105-year-old party. SAD leaders, including Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, secretary general Balwinder Singh Bhundar and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, alleged SAD (Punar Surjit) was collaborating with Punjab’s governing AAP to undermine their gathering.Although the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted SAD access to a site in the local grain market initially allotted to AAP for organising a blood donation camp, SAD opted to move to an alternate venue. Party functionaries claimed the large turnout at the new site demonstrated that SAD was coming back to the forefront.Addressing the rally, Harsimrat demanded a central agency investigation into recent attacks on Sukhbir, accusing the AAP govt of failing to protect him. She claimed a deep-rooted conspiracy was underway to eliminate her husband to weaken SAD. She spoke on behalf of Sukhbir, who is recovering from a recent attack in Nanded.Harsimrat criticised the Punjab govt for building a weak legal case against the suspect in an earlier attack outside the Golden Temple, which allowed the assailant to be released after two-and-a-half months. She also dismissed police claims that the incident was staged for political sympathy.Harsimrat accused both AAP and the Congress of exploiting a 2015 sacrilege case for political gain while ignoring hundreds of sacrilege incidents during their own tenures. She further blamed both parties for patronising drug syndicates, alleging rampant addiction continues to claim young lives across Punjab.At the same event, senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia targeted Rajbir Ghuman, an OSD to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. Majithia challenged Ghuman to follow through on threats of a defamation lawsuit over allegations linked to an Enforcement Directorate document, saying he remained unfazed by legal action.
