Crucial meeting on October 6, says Tohra

NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) — Differences between the BJP and its coalition partner, the Akali Dal, surfaced again today with senior Akali Dal leader and SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra saying that the days of extending unconditional support to the BJP-led government at the Centre were over.

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Tohra said it was becoming difficult for his party to continue supporting the A.B. Vajpayee government in the wake of the latter’s "indifferent" attitude towards their demands which had already been submitted to the Centre in the shape of a memorandum four weeks ago.

Even Akali Dal’s electoral alliance for the coming November elections in four states-Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram —would not be an unconditional one as had been earlier, Mr Tohra said. The SAD would only have seat adjustment with the BJP if any electoral understanding was arrived at. Besides this, the Dal would contest on its own symbol and not on the BJP symbol as it did in the last Delhi assembly elections.

Mr Tohra said despite repeated requests, the Union Government, of which the Akali Dal is a coalition partner, chose to include Udham Singh Nagar in the proposed hill state of Uttaranchal.

He said the Akali Dal was holding its working committee meeting at Chandigarh on October 6 where his party’s political tie-up with the BJP would reviewed in toto.

Mr Tohra, who wields a considerable clout in the Akali Dal, clarified that his posture vis-a-vis the BJP should not be construed as "threat to the A.B. Vajpayee government, aimed at extracting concessions from it". Instead, it was the articulation of the "principled stand" of the party and the collective thinking of party leaders and workers. Mr Tohra has been the president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) that controls Sikh religious affairs for the past 25 years.

The Akali leader was categorical in his opposition to the imposition of President's rule in Bihar and reiterated his earlier stand that the removal of the Rabri Devi government by "misusing" Article 356 of the Constitution would amount to "murdering of democracy".

Mr Tohra was irked over "no response" from the Central Government over the Akali memorandum containing demands which was submitted to the Prime Minister and Home Minister L.K. Advani by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Elaborating on his party's demands, Mr Tohra said instead of conceding to their demand for second language status to Punjabi in Delhi, the Sahib Singh Verma government did not even make a mention of it in the three-language formula announced two months ago for secondary schools in the Capital. Mr Verma even chose to deny Punjabi an equal status with Urdu, even though both languages had been granted "second language facilities" in Delhi long ago, Mr Tohra said.

Listing the demands included in the memorandum, Mr Tohra said the Vajpayee government should fix liability for the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and other parts of the country, pay an interim compensation of Rs 3.60 lakh to the kin of the riot victims as per the verdict of the Delhi High Court and the Union Home Ministry should give instructions to the state governments to implement the court orders in their states.

Other demands included payment of Rs 1000 crore to the SGPC for damage to the Golden Temple complex in the June 1984 Operation Bluestar in Amritsar and setting up of a scrutiny commission to go into the gamut of circumstances that led to the Army attack and other related developments in Punjab.

Besides, the memorandum demanded an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act, excluding Sikh women from wearing helmet on two-wheelers.

Mr Tohra said the BJP should not take the Akalis for granted on every issue and "we have to take care of the interests of Punjab and the Sikh community."

He was irked over the central BJP leadership's stand on Chandigarh and other demands. Mr Tohra particularly referred to Home Minister Advani's statement that Chandigarh would not be transferred to Punjab. The Home Minister made this statement during his visit to Chandigarh a few weeks ago.

The BJP vice-president, Mr K L Sharma's observation that the Akalis had never raised any demand with the Centre also created bad blood between the Akalis and the BJP, Mr Tohra felt.

The Udham Singh Nagar issue seemed to have made the Akalis even more bitter as Mr Tohra questioned why Hardwar district, a semi-hill area, was excluded from the proposed hill-state of Uttaranchal and the plain area of Udham Singh Nagar was not given the same treatment.

Meanwhile, Akali sources said the coming Akali Dal working committee meeting would be a stormy one. Some decisions of far-reaching consequences are expected to be taken.

Badal reiterates threat
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 2 — The Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today said his party was negotiating with other like-minded parties on the issue of Udham Singh Nagar district's future. If the BJP went ahead with its decision to include it in Uttaranchal state, SAD would withdraw support to the coalition government in New Delhi.

The Political Affairs Committee of SAD had already adopted a resolution to this effect; this was on August 6.

Among the political leaders SAD was having a dialogue with the DMK chief, Mr K. Karunanidhi, Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Om Parkash Chautala.

Earlier cutting across religions, community lines and political alignments, nearly 500 people from Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh today descended at the residence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to seek moral support and express their anguish and apprehensions over their future.

Such a large turnout was not expected. Even proper arrangements to receive them had not been foreseen. Nevertheless these people, who are tooth and nail opposed to the inclusion of their district in the proposed Uttaranchal state, came all the way to show to the Chief Minister-cum-President of the Shiromani Akali Dal newspaper reports and documents how lists were being prepared to change their state.

It was the President of the UP Akali Dal Mr Harbhajan Singh Cheema, who set the ball rolling. After several speakers had spoken one particular individual with a grey beard walked up to the Chief Minister and spread out his "jholi"

Mr Parkash Singh said the party and people of Punjab were with them, who had toiled to make the place an oasis of prosperity and development, which once was infested by forests and wild animals.

In fact, he told the gathering of worried men, the PAC on July 5 had first issued a "warning" against inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal. Even now SAD was firm on its stand that it will withdraw support if its genuine demand was not accepted. Moreover, Mr Parkash Singh said the party's members of Parliament would oppose the Bill as and when it was presented in Parliament.

Talking to TNS after the meeting with Udham Singh Nagar representatives from different walks of life, Mr Badal said "friendship" with the BJP was one thing, commitment to the people quite another. There was no scope for continuing "unconditional support" to the BJP. The adamant attitude will cast a shadow even on the coming Assembly elections scheduled for November 25. It will be difficult for the party to canvass for BJP candidates among Sikh voters at that time.

Mr Parkash Singh pointed out that may be due to discipline BJP partymen in Udham Singh Nagar district were taking the partyline otherwise the cadre too was opposed to being pushed into the Uttaranchal state.

The refrain at the meeting, he said was "save us". It was a cry for justice.

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