Chandigarh: A day after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party on Saturday backed the Centre’s proposal for a uniform 50% increase in parliamentary seats for all states and demanded immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill.The Shiromani Akali Dal has one Lok Sabha member, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.SAD’s revised stand on delimitation came amid renewed speculation about a possible reunion with the BJP, its former ally of more than two decades. The two parties jointly governed Punjab from 1997 to 2002 and 2007 to 2017 before ending their alliance in September 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws.At a meeting of senior party leaders chaired by Sukhbir in Chandigarh, the SAD demanded that both women’s reservation and delimitation be implemented without further delay. It backed the Union govt’s proposal for a uniform 50% increase in the parliamentary seats of all states, saying delimitation must ensure fair and equitable representation. “The Shiromani Akali Dal supported the proposal which was put up by the Govt of India on the floor of the House for a uniform increase of 50% of seats of all states. The party emphasised that women reservation and delimitation should be done immediately,” Sukhbir said in a post on X.In April, however, Sukhbir had opposed the Centre’s proposed population-based delimitation, calling it “highly discriminatory” against Punjab. He had said the SAD strongly supported women’s reservation but opposed using it as a “camouflage for delimitation”.On women’s reservation, Sukhbir said the SAD drew inspiration from the Sikh Gurus, who championed the dignity, equality and equal rights of women. He also pointed to the SGPC’s provision for women’s reservation in its House as an example.Union minister Kiren Rijiju welcomed SAD’s decision, saying it followed the example set by the SGPC. “We must come together to empower women with a fair & equitable delimitation that ensures equal representation,” he posted on X.
