Sukhbir Badal cracks whip, expels 8 rebel Akali Dal leaders
Hindustan TimesTaking a tough stance, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday expelled eight rebel leaders for ‘anti-party’ activities. Leaders who have been expelled are former president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Bibi Jagir Kaur, former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former ministers Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Sikander Singh Maluka, Surjit Singh Rakhra, former MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Surinder Singh Thekedar and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s political secretary Charanjit Singh Brar. Former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra is among the prominent eight Akali Dal leaders who have been shown the door by the party. The rebel leaders had launched the ‘SAD Sudhar Lehar’ to ’strengthen and uplift’ the 103-year-old outfit and have been demanding the resignation of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal following the Shiromani Akali Dal’s successive poll debacles starting with assembly polls in 2017. Blaming Sukhbir, who then was the state’s deputy CM and holding charge of the home department, the rebels sought pardon for the appointment of Sumedh Singh Saini, who faces the allegations of fake encounters in Punjab during terrorism, as DGP, giving ticket to the wife of former cop Izhar Alam, Farzana Alam as party’s candidate from Malerkotla, which she contested successfully.