Muktsar, April 19, 2019: The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday got a major shot in the arm as former Congress MP Jagmit Brar and his brother and ex-MLA Ripjeet Singh Brar joined the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party here this afternoon.
Mr Jagmeet Brar and Mr Ripjeet Brar described their decision as a return to roots and a homecoming. “I have always been emotionally and ideologically much closer to the Panthic and pro-Punjab agenda and conduct of the SAD than to the Congress or any other outfit in the country,” Jagmeet Brar said while addressing the gathering.
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal presented Siropas (robe of honour) to Mr Jagmeet Brar and his brother.
The duo joined the SAD in the presence of the Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, apart from thousands of party workers and supporters.
Addressing the gathering, Brar said that Mr Parkash Singh Badal had always been his role model in politics. “Political leaders across the political spectrum the country need to learn a lot from Mr Badal’s self-effacing humility, his dedication and commitment to the Panthic ideals and his tireless work for the cause of the poor, the farmers and the unemployed youth.
He is the tallest statesman in the country today and a messiah for all-round development. Even when opposed to him along party lines, I have always respected his class and have always been inspired by his discipline, hard work and modesty,” Brar said.
Brar also admired Ms Harsimrat Kaur Badal saying that she truly left a mark on the national psyche by the way she espoused the cause of the people of Punjab in general and the Sikhs in particular. He recalled her speech on the massacre of innocent Sikhs in 1984, describing it as “an iconic speech.”
He said that he and his brother would work in SAD “as soldiers and workers of the party and servants of the people of Punjab.” He described Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal as “a passionate visionary about futuristic development cut ina truly Panthic mould.”
Welcoming Brars into the party, SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal asked the party president to benefit from the vast experience, zeal and vision of Mr Jagmit Brar in particular. “Always hold him tight in an embrace of love and trust. His coming to the SAD is the final nail in the Congress’ coffin in the state,” said the former CM, adding that Brar was arguably the most impressive orator in the country today.
Ms Harsimrat Badal too lauded Jagmit Brar as a tireless worker and said that despite being in the opposition, she had always been impressed by the commitment and hard work shown by Brar. She called him a “relentless crusader who has now become a brother in Punjab’s cause.” (agency)