Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali boycotts presidential poll

Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali on Monday boycotted the presidential poll, saying issues related to Punjab remain unresolved and he was not consulted by his party leadership before deciding to back NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has three legislators in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha.

In a video message, Ayali said he is boycotting the poll as the party leadership did not consult him before deciding to extend support to Murmu.

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However, the Dakha MLA said he has no opposition to the candidature of Murmu. "But when the party decided to vote for the BJP candidate, I was not consulted. Even the Sikh community was also not consulted," he said.

He alleged that there had always been discrimination against Punjab.

Referring to Punjab issues, Ayali raised the matter of handing over of Punjabi-speaking areas to the state besides the non-resolution of contentious river water sharing issue.

He said after the BJP came to power, there were many expectations from it for the resolution of Punjab issues.

"But our issues remain unresolved," said Ayali in the video.