New Delhi: The saffron party's long-term ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has decided not to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the Capital after it was asked by the Bharatiya Janata Party to change its stance on the recent amendments to the Citizenship Act, which have resulted in widespread protests across the country.
Addressing a presser, SAD leader Majinder Singh Sirsa said that during three separate poll-related meetings, the BJP had asked it to reconsider its stance on the changes to the Citizenship law. "During our meeting with the BJP, we were asked to reconsider our stand on CAA but we declined to do so. Shiromani Akali Dal is of the firm stand that Muslims cannot be left out of CAA," Sirsa said.
Sirsa, who had contested from Rajouri Garden in 2015, also said that his party is strongly against the National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, it is interesting to note that the SAD had voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill when it was introduced in Parliament.
On the other hand, while the BJP has not officially announced whether they will form alliances to field candidates in the remaining 13 seats, BJP party officials have said that Janata Dal United (JDU) will fight on two seats in alliance with them. In fact, JDU's Shailender Kumar has already filed his nomination papers from Burari constituency.