Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader and two time legislator Joginder Singh Panjgrain today dealt a major blow to the Congress by joining the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the presence of its president Sukhbir Singh Badal and expressed confidence that the SAD-BJP combine alone could give justice to the poor and oppressed sections of society.
Panjgrain, who is among the most senior Dalit leaders of the Malwa region, said he had decided to leave the Congress as it had drifted from its ideals and was no longer serving the poor and under privileged sections of society. The SAD president while welcoming Mr Panjgrain into the Akali fold by honouring him with a ‘siropa’, said the Dalit leader would be given due respect in the SAD and his vast experience in social welfare would be put to good use.
Explaining his reasons for leaving the Congress party, Pangrain said the Congress had been hijacked by sycophants who were not allowing the party to work for the poor. He said he had met Pradesh Congress president Sunil Jakhar and even apprised him how the Dalit community was facing discrimination in the Congress dispensation but no corrective action was taken on his representation.
Panjgrain said earlier despite being a two time legislator from Panjgrain and later after delimitation from Jaito in 2007 and 2012 respectively, he was arbitrarily shifted to Bhadaur constituency in the 2017 assembly elections. He said he would on his part continue to work for the downtrodden as President of the State Labour union.
SAD president Sukhbir Badal said Mr Panjgrain was a people’s leader who had entered politics in 1992 as a municipal councilor and had a record of heading the State labour union for thirty years. “He is also presently constituency incharge of Bhadaur”. He said leaders like Mr Pangrain were leaving the Congress to join the SAD because they realized they would not be able to go back to the people and ask for their votes again because the Congress party had reneged on each and every promise made to the people be it to farmers, youth, Dalits , traders or even government employees.