With the BJP's 25-year-old alliance with Shiv Sena coming under strain before the Maharashtra assembly polls, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Sunday said the alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP in Punjab is strong and not comparable to any other alliance.
"The SAD-BJP alliance has always stood the test of time. It is wrong to compare this alliance with any other one in the country," Badal told media in Faridkot, 225 km from here.
Badal said: "The SAD-BJP alliance is everlasting and both the parties should not be seen as different from each other. It is a unique phenomenon of the Indian democratic system, which has passed every litmus test in last few decades."
"It is sheer wastage of time to raise any sort of suspicion regarding the relationship between both the partners as the alliance was very strong and impeccable."
Badal's made the remarks while responding to queries on the strain the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance before the Maharashtra assembly polls over seat-sharing.
"The alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra is the personal matter of both these parties and it should not be linked with that of the SAD-BJP in Punjab," Badal said.
He said the relations between the SAD and BJP were "very cordial because they have been time and again been cemented with mutual affection and understanding".
He said the alliance government in the state had put Punjab on high growth trajectory and made Punjab a peaceful state.
The SAD-BJP alliance has been running the Punjab government since 2007.
