SUNAM(Sangrur) :  Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was on Thursday seen defending Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) on the issue of voting against Sikh Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh during trust vote in the parliament on July 22 last. He was here to preside over a function to mark martyrdom day of Shaheed Udham Singh.

The defensive statements of Badal have started pouring in after the Congress party announced that it will make the issue of SAD opposing Sikh PM, an election issue in coming Lok Sabha poll.

While presiding over the state level function Badal spent major part of him speech by concentrating to defend SAD for voting against Dr. Manmohan Singh.Badal felt uneasiness during his speech while defending SAD for voting against a Sikh prime minister. He clarified many times during his speech regarding SAD's stand on casting a trust vote against UPA government. He said that it was a unanimous decision taken at the party level based on strong convictions that how the state was subjected to sheer discrimination by the Centre at all fronts. 

Badal was accompanied by Secretary General of SAD & Sangrur MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who had aired his views in core committee of SAD that Sikhs will not forgive SAD if they voted against a Sikh prime Minister.

According to sources it was Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who had raised this issue in core committee meeting of SAD that Sikhs of Punjab will not forget SAD if party will caste its vote against a Sikh prime minister in parliament on the trust vote. It was echoed by Punjab Cooperation minister Capt. KanwaljIt Singh in the meeting, said sources. Sources further added that Another MP Rattan Singh Ajnala was also against the party's move but at last followed the party's whip. Interestingly the son of Dhindsa, Parminder Singh was MLA from Sunam and minster in Badal Government and Ajnala's son Amarpal Singh represented Ajnala (Amritsar) assembly segment.