Patiala, May 27 - Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal today appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant freedom to Sikh religious organizations from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He said that even the British could not break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, but the central government led by the BJP has done so.
Akali Dal president, addressing a gathering of Akali Dal candidate from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency NK Sharma in a massive power show, said that the Prime Minister had talked during his recent visit to Punjab, how his Govt. established the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and asserted that if the BJP had been in power after independence, they would not have allowed Kartarpur Sahib to go to Pakistan. He said that it might be true But it is also a fact that the central government has handed over the Gurdhams of Sikhs, especially Takht Sri Hazur Sahib and Sri Patna Sahib to the RSS.
  He said that these steps are very unfortunate. He said that people like Dhyan Singh Mand, Jasbir Singh Rode and Baljit Singh Daduwal are engaged in weakening the Akali Dal and Shiromani Committee and they are working for the central agencies. Talking about the moral decline in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Badal said that the viral obscene video of "AAP" minister Balkar Singh has added a new chapter to the decline in Punjab's politics. He said that even though this issue has been public for the past several months, the "AAP" government has not investigated the matter. He said that earlier the video of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak was made public and at that time the "AAP" government formed an SIT to investigate the matter, through which the complainant was threatened and the complaint was withdrawn. The Akali Dal chief said that the Akali Dal is committed to deliver permanent relief from the Ghaggar floods. He lauded the contribution of NK Sharma in public life especially in the development of Mohali and Zirakpur. Speaking on the occasion, NK Sharma explained how the "AAP" government did not give adequate compensation to the farmers for the land acquired at a cost of Rs 764 crore for the Patiala Ring Road. He said that both the Congress and "AAP" have not taken any steps to prevent floods in Rajpura, Ghanur, Sanur, Shutrana and Devigarh areas although it was promised. He also promised that he would make efforts to establish a hospital like AIIMS in Patiala. On this occasion, senior leader Surjit Singh Rakhra appealed to the people to compare the character and performance of the candidates in the election field. He said that Congress candidate Dr. Dharamvir Gandhi and BJP candidate Praneet Kaur have changed their parties and betrayed their mother party who cannot be trusted anymore.
On this occasion, among others, former MLA Bibi Harpreet Kaur Mukhmailpur, Patiala rural in-charge Jaspal Singh Bittu Chatha, Shutrana in-charge Kabir Das, Patiala urban in-charge Amarinder Bajaj, Nabha in-charge Makhan Singh Lalka, Rajpura in-charge Charanjit Singh Brar, Ghanoor in-charge. In-charge Bhupinder Singh Sheikhupura, District President and Shromani Committee member Jarnail Singh Kartarpur, Surjit Singh Garhi, Jasmer Singh Lachhru, former chairman Lakhveer Singh Lot, Krishnapal Sharma, Ashwani Sharma and other dignitaries were present in large numbers.