CHANDIGARH, Aug 2026 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Akali Dal (Badal) over the ongoing speculation about a possible alliance with the BJP, saying that the noise around the alliance was being deliberately created by the Akali leadership to manipulate public opinion and, more importantly, to provide a political escape route to Sukhbir Singh Badal.
In a video message, AAP Punjab Media Incharge Baltej Pannu said it was particularly significant that Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia were currently at the forefront of the alliance debate. “It appears as if Sukhbir Singh Badal is trying to run away from Punjab and hand over the reins of the Akali Dal to Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia,” he said, adding that the Badals could not escape the questions that Punjab had been asking for years.
Baltej Pannu said Sukhbir Singh Badal could not simply walk away from the painful chapter of Punjab’s history associated with the events of 2015. “The people of Punjab have not forgotten the incidents of Beadbi of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, nor have they forgotten the subsequent crackdown on people who were sitting in peaceful protests. Police firing claimed the lives of two people, and the pain of those incidents is still alive in the hearts of Punjabis,” he said.
He said the investigations and accountability arising from those incidents could not be avoided through political manoeuvring or by entering into a fresh alliance. “Sukhbir Singh Badal may want to leave Punjab to escape these questions, but Punjab will not allow him to run away from accountability,” Baltej Pannu asserted.
Taking aim at Bikram Singh Majithia, Baltej Pannu said the damage caused to Punjab under the Akali leadership was not hidden from anyone. “The people of Punjab know very well who caused how much damage to the state. If they believe that by reviving an alliance they can create a political shield for themselves and escape accountability, that is nothing more than a delusion,” he said.
The AAP Punjab Media In-charge further said that the Akali Dal Badal could not expect Punjabis to forget its record simply because the party was now discussing another alliance. “The people remember the Beadbi incidents, the repression of peaceful protesters and the failures of the previous Akali-BJP governments,” he said.
AAP Punjab Spokesperson Neel Garg also slammed the Akali Dal and BJP for deliberately creating hype around a possible alliance in an attempt to test and influence public sentiment. He said the people of Punjab knew the “anti-Punjab mindset” of both parties and had already experienced the consequences of their politics.
Neel Garg said the 2007-2017 Akali-BJP governments had left Punjab with a legacy of drugs, mafia networks and widespread deterioration. He said the drug crisis that devastated an entire generation, along with the rise of land, sand and transport mafias, was associated with the period of their governments. He also pointed to BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu’s own previous remarks on the issue of drugs returning to Punjab, saying that the statement itself exposed the contradictions within the BJP’s politics.
Neel Garg said Punjab no longer wanted politics based on failed alliances and power-sharing arrangements. “The people want politics of work and development, politics that creates jobs for youth, ensures fair returns for farmers, takes canal water to fields, provides quality schools for children and guarantees good healthcare,” he said.
