M A I N   N E W S

SAD leaders skirt sensitive issues
From Varinder Walia and Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ANANDPUR SAHIB, March 21 — Bowing to the directions of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), Bibi Jagir Kaur, President, SGPC, stayed away from the political conference organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal here yesterday. Earlier, she had announced that “come what may I shall participate in the Hola Mohalla celebrations”.

While the issue of maryada (Sikh tradition) dominated the political conferences of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), speakers observed norms of ‘discipline’, dictated by the PAC, at the SAD conference by not touching the ‘most sensitive’ subject of Akal Takht and the ongoing Panthic crisis, for obvious reasons.

Lambasting the leadership of the SHSAD and the Congress, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, and President, SAD, alleged that the two parties were responsible for conspiring to divide the Punjabis along the communal lines and disturb the atmosphere of peace and unity in the state. Addressing an impressive gathering of devotees, Mr Badal held former SGPC Chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra and his supporters responsible for inciting Sikh youths to follow the suicidal path in the past.

“Punjabis will never forgive leaders who refuse to learn from blunders of the past”, he observed.

Mr Badal warned that the ‘conspiracy’ hatched by the Congress and the SHSAD aimed at destabilising the SAD-BJP government was bound to boomerang as Punjabis today stood united against any such attempt.

Referring to the two-and-half-decade-long pending demands of Punjab, Mr Badal said the government would continue to fight for fair adjudication of the inter-state river waters, transfer of Chandigarh and other left-out Punjabi speaking areas into Punjab. He categorically stated that Punjab had not a single drop of spare water to give to other states. “The issue of the inter-state river waters will have to be settled as per the internationally accepted riparian laws”, he said. The Chief Minister indicated that the SYL could not be completed.

Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Mr Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, Mrs Satwant Kaur Sandhu, Mr Tara Singh Ladal and Mr Sucha Singh Langah, speaking on the occasion, claimed that the SAD-BJP government would complete its five year term as no other party, including, the Congress, could not form an alternative government. “It is clear from the result of the Nawanshahr byelection where the Congress was defeated by more than 26,000 votes whole the common candidate of the SHSAD and the SAD (Amritsar) could get 484 votes only”, they said.

The SHSAD conference unanimously passed a resolution to launch “Punjab bachao, Panth bachao, Badal bhajao” (save Punjab, save Panth, oust Badal) morcha at the concluding functions of the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa Panth to be held on Baisakhi, April 13. “It is the need of the hour to replace the useless, undemocratic and most corrupt government”, the conference stated. It also resolved to launch a peaceful struggle for getting Chandigarh and other left-out Punjabi speaking areas into Punjab and fair adjudication of the inter-state river waters. The SHSAD would also struggle for establishment of the federal structure and getting more autonomy for the states.

In another resolution, the SHSAD called upon the pro-Panthic people to boycott Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur for denigrating Akal Takht and ‘maryada’. The resolution alleged that the two had played into the hands of ‘anti-Panthic’ forces and caused great harm to the established maryada of Akal Takht which should be condemned by one and all. “They have wiped out the fear of Akal Takht from the hearts of Sikhs”, it stated.

The resolutions passed by the SAD (Mann) condemned the Jathedars, the Punjab Government and certain office-bearers of the SGPC for denigrating and challenging the supremacy of Akal Takht for their vested interests. It took strong exceptions to the use of institutions of the Khalsa Panth, including the SGPC, Akal Takht, hukamnamas and sarbat Khalsa for political ends. Another resolution sought the implementation of the Nanakshahi calendar.

The SAD (Mann) in another significant resolution, decided to part company with the SHSAD. It is pertinent to mention here that the SAD (Mann) and the SHSAD had fought the previous Lok Sabha poll and the Nawanshahr byelection unitedly. The resolution said the SAD (Mann) would keep distance from the traditional Akali leadership the SAD and the SHSAD — as both were responsible for harming the Sikh Panth. It said “while Mr Badal had caused harm to the Panth and maryada at the behest of the RSS, Mr Tohra had also denigrated the Sikh institutions as he was hand-in-glove with the Congress”. The SAD (Mann) said it was preparing a list of bureaucrats who would be punished with the support of people. Prominent among those who addressed the conference including Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, Bhai Ram Singh and Bhai Charn Singh Lohara (both general secretaries).