Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): — In a major political realignment that deals a severe blow to the traditional Akali factions in Punjab, veteran leader and former Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra formally shifted his allegiance to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday. The induction took place during a massive public rally in Samana, where Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann personally welcomed Rakhra, his family, and a large contingent of supporters into the party fold.
Rakhra’s high-profile defection comes barely 48 hours after he was expelled for anti-party activities by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), a breakaway faction led by Giani Harpreet Singh. Rakhra, a two-time Member of the Legislative Assembly from Samana who previously held vital portfolios including Revenue, Rehabilitation, and Rural Development under Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had increasingly distanced himself from the core Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal over the past year before briefly aligning with the Punar Surjit group.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Mann described May 16 as a watershed moment in the state’s political landscape, praising Rakhra as a respected public servant who prioritised the welfare of Punjab over substantial personal and business interests. Launching a scathing attack on the Badal family, Chief Minister Mann remarked that leaders who once arrogantly claimed they would govern Punjab for 25 years now struggle to retain even 25 active members, asserting that the Akali Dal has completely lost public trust due to its handling of historical beadbi (sacrilege) incidents.
Explaining his political move, Rakhra stated that his decision was directly driven by the Mann administration’s recent legislative breakthrough in passing a stringent anti-sacrilege law, the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, which imposes life imprisonment for acts of sacrilege. Rakhra revealed that he had spent nearly 18 months supporting the local Samana Morcha protest demanding such legal protections and had promised Chief Minister Mann that he would join AAP if the government showed the political fortitude to enact the law. Rakhra, who is the younger brother of prominent US-based industrialist Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, also lauded the ruling government’s aggressive expansion of canal water infrastructure to protect Punjab’s agricultural belt from groundwater depletion.
