AMRITSAR: Expressing its displeasure with the Indo-US Nuclear deal, the Dal Khalsa took exception over the manner the scattered Sikh leadership has taken diverse stance without debating and understanding the pros and cons of the deal.

Party general secretary Kanwarpal Singh and senior executive members H S Dhami and Dr Manjinder Singh said Saturday that the Sikh leadership should oppose the deal as it was against the interests of Punjab & Sikhs and that the deal would trigger nuclear race on our doorsteps.
 
They pointed out that for Akalis, the interest of the Sikhs should be paramount. In principle, the interest of Sikhs lies in a nuclear free South Asia, they pointed out.

There was a question of survival of Sikh people as they are sandwiched between two arch nuclear rivals, which had fought 3 wars in the past. Hence, Sikh representatives in Parliament should oppose Indo-US nuclear deal keeping in mind its long term consequences, safety of Punjab and its inhabitants, they said.

Urging the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal not to follow the beaten-track, they said he should frame independent policies and adopt separate line from that of his alliance partner. They said it was a right opportunity to reinforce SAD's independent regional identity.  

To drive their point home, they said countries like South Africa, Ireland (members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group), which have a principled stand on nuclear disarmament, are unlikely to support it. Terming it as a smoke screen, they detested the government's claim that the nuclear fuel and energy it would get from the US under the deal was meant for civil purposes only.
 
Expressing serious doubts about the deal, they maintained the government had vowed not to stop producing bomb-producing material and had pledged to continue expanding its nuclear arsenal. However, they observed that for the country, the best solution to meet its growing energy needs is to sign NPT and CTBT.

They expressed their disagreement with those who were advocating to vote in favour of the UPA merely on the basis that Dr Manmohan Singh- an architect of the deal- is a first Sikh Prime Minister. "This argument is just emotional that hardly carries any weight". Dr Manmohan Singh has done nothing special or extra for Punjab and Panth in his four and a half year of stint.  

Similarly, taking a dig at chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, they said the set positioning of SAD (Badal) to toe NDA line blindly was too fraught with danger. Contesting the claim of Mr Badal that "we are a secular party and follow 'sarbat da bhala' dictum and not the welfare of Sikhs alone", the Dal Khalsa leaders said the impression is that a single family was running the government with 'Sukhbir-da-bhala' dictum.