Chandigarh, May 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the Non Resident Indian (NRI) community had affirmed faith in the party following a visit of a SAD delegation to Australia and Newzealand during the course of which NRIs said they had been betrayed by both the Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Returning back after a successful visit to Australia and Newzealand, senior leader Tejinder Singh Middukhera, who led the Delegation, said “NRIs were very clear. The amount of support they received during the previous SAD government is missing now.
They told us – from resolving NRIs issues on the spot by holding special ‘sangat darshan’ programmes for NRIs to creating special NRI courts and NRI police stations, the SAD truly sided with the community”.
Mr Middukhera said NRIs were despondent that both the previous Congress government as well as the present AAP government had done nothing for their welfare. “They are most hurt by the conduct of the AAP government which they supported wholeheartedly in the 2022 assembly elections”.
Giving details of the visit, Mr Middukhera, who was accompanied by Youth Akali Dal president Sarabjit Singh Jhinjher, Gurpreet Singh Jhabbar and Jasbir Singh Jassi Malwai, said “the SAD delegation called on heads of Sikh institutions besides interacting with Sports Clubs and Gurdwara Committees. We also met NRIs socially in order to understand their problems and prepare a road map to remove all their grievances”.
The highlight of the interactive sessions was the huge demand to listen to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The SAD president actively engaged with the diaspora by addressing meetings via video conferencing. Among the massive interactive sessions and gatherings across multiple cities was the warm welcome received by the delegation at Gurdwara Sahib Canning Vale in Perth besides highly attended events in Adelaide.
The NRIs urged the delegation to convey to the SAD president that the NRI communities of both Australia and Newzealand were keen to host him in their countries.
The delegation also met the SAD president today and presented a report of the entire trip including requests by leading NRIs to enlist as members of the party and offer their wholehearted support to the SAD in the 2027 assembly elections.
Interacting with the delegation, Mr Sukhbir Badal said the SAD had always held NRIs in high esteem and had conducted special NRI Sammelans to resolve their grievances.
“All issues pertaining to NRIs will be taken up for resolution on top priority once the SAD forms the government in Punjab. We are keen to make the NRI community an equal partner in the progress and prosperity of Punjab”, Mr Badal added.
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