AMRITSAR, Aug. 13 -- A day after getting unanimously elected as president of the breakaway Shiromani Akali Dal faction, Giani Harpreet Singh, 52, on Tuesday sharpened his attack on Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and dubbed the recruitment and presidential polls conducted by the group as "bogus". In an interview with Hindustan Times, the former Akal Takht acting jathedar said his faction will soon approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a claim over party nomenclature, election symbol and office. Edited excerpts:

How is your group different from SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal? What is the need for a separate outfit?

They (Sukhbir camp) did not follow the party principles. We will do so. We are real Akali Dal. They burie...