Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab minister Anil Joshi, a prominent Hindu leader in Amritsar, on Wednesday resigned from the party, saying he found himself a "misfit" there.
A two-time legislator from Amritsar North, Joshi submitted his resignation to Akali Dal Working President Balwinder Singh Bhundar citing "the party’s deviation from its motive".
In the resignation letter, he said he found himself a "misfit" in the party as it is seldom commensurate with the vision that he had carried to join it.
Saying he" joined the Akali Dal as the party then stood for people, farmers and rights of Punjab", Joshi, a former minister with the Akali Dal-BJP government in the state from 2012 to 2017, said, "I joined the Shiromani Akali Dal with postulation that it aimed to stand by the principle of unity and brotherhood unmindful of any caste, religion or creed, under the leadership of five-time former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal."
"But after getting into it, especially after Badal sahib, I realised it to be a farce assumption. The present scenario took such a dismal state of affairs within the party that Sukhbir Singh Badal had to resign from the party President's post," he said.
"It appeared as if SAD has the sole agenda to resurrect its position on Panthic parameters and got entangled only in Panthic politics. I find no place for me in the party. My motive was for the overall welfare and development of the people. After introspection, I concluded that it would be impossible for me to continue in the party and I have requested Bhunder sahib to accept my resignation,” he said.
Before joining the Akali Dal in 2021, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled Joshi for six years terming his outburst against the state and the central leadership over the farm protests as an "anti-party activity".
Joshi had been openly blaming the BJP's state leadership for "not giving correct feedback" to the Centre on the farm laws.