CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) in a significant decision has decided to quit electoral politics. The party led by Simranjit Singh Mann said here that his party would not contest Lok Sabha polls or Punjab assembly polls in the coming future.
Talking to a regional paper, Mann said SAD (Amritsar) party did not have money power unlike other political parties, making it difficult to match their potential.
He further added that the party candidates suffered defeat in almost every election due to paucity of money.
Reiterating his commitment for the cause of Sikh panth, Mann said his aim would not be the Indian Parliament or Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
Terming it a setback to the democratic setup of the Indian nation that a political party had to quit electoral process, the SAD (Amritsar) president said the party based on strong ideology was forced to opt out of the electoral politics as it did not have enough funds to woo the voters like other parties, thriving on muscle power and ill-gotten money.
An active propagandist of Khalistan homeland, Simranjit Singh Mann, resigned from his post of Commandant of the Central Industrial Security Force (IPS) in Bombay protesting against the Operation Bluestar.
He has been arrested or detained around 30 times but has never been convicted. He had also been charged with conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
He had created history when his party won 12 of the 13 Lok Sabh seats from Punjab.
Mann was released unconditionally “in the interests of the State” in November 1989 when all charges against him were dropped.
The former IPS officer was even denied Indian passport citing the reason that he was a threat to the integrity of the nation. He was denied entry to the Parliament when he insisted carrying a kirpan with him.
There was an attempt to assassinate Mann in May 1993 when he was campaigning for a candidate during Jalandhar by-elections though no one was charged.
Mann was issued a passport following the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 3, 1999.
