By IANS,
Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal mentor Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday said his party would vote against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government in the July 22 confidence motion.
Badal said he and the Akali Dal – a party largely seen to have Sikh support base in Punjab – were willing to take the blame for voting out the country’s first Sikh prime minister.
“The Akali Dal will not become part of the present horse-trading and will go with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),” he said here.
He said there was no question of his party abstaining during the trust vote.
The Akali Dal leadership met here Tuesday evening to finalize the party strategy on the trust vote.
Badal heads an alliance government in Punjab with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
There has been pressure on the Akalis from various quarters, including the opposition Congress in Punjab, to support the first Sikh prime minister.
“Unfortunately, Manmohan Singh is in a party which has always caused losses and done grave injustice to Punjab and the Sikhs,” Badal said.