Major setback for Sukhbir Singh Badal; his close aide joins BJP
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
In a major setback to shiromani akali dal Sukhbir Singh Badal, his closest aide and SAD face in the national capital Manjinder Singh Sirsa today joined the BJP hours after he tendered his resignation as the president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Wednesday.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa resigned from the post of president citing personal reasons and immediately joined BJP in the presence of union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, BJP’s in-charge for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.
“With gratitude to all office bearers, members, staff & people who worked with me; I am resigning from Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee as President. I will not contest upcoming DSGMC internal elections. My commitment to serve my community, humanity & nation remains same,” he said in a tweet announcing his resignation.
Shekhawat, who is the BJP’s in-charge for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls, said that Manjinder Sirsa has a prominent place in the politics of northern India. “I include him in the BJP family. Sirsa’s induction into the party will definitely be helpful for it in the upcoming state elections,” Shekhawat said.
Sirsa fought and won the 2017 assembly elections from Rajouri Garden on a BJP ticket. His former party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, has since broken away from the BJP.
He led the move for the separate marriage act for the Sikh community and was the first one to get his marriage registered under the act so as to lead by example for the members of the community.
December 1,2021
