M A I N   N E W S

Fearing arrest, Badal meets Advani
T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 14
Apprehending his arrest any moment by the Capt Amarinder Singh government in Punjab, SAD chief and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called on Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and apprised him of the political situation going out of hand in the sensitive border state.

Mr Badal, who was with Mr Advani for more than 20 minutes here in the forenoon, alleged that the Congress government in Punjab was violating the provisions of the Constitution with impunity.

Sources in the Badal camp said they had definite information from the police hierarchy in Punjab that the former Chief Minister’s arrest under the Prevention of Corruption Act was imminent.

Before leaving for Ambala en route to Punjab this afternoon, Mr Badal spoke on the telephone to all members of the Political Affairs Committee of the SAD and impressed upon them that in the event of his arrest they should maintain peace and calm in the state. He was emphatic that public life should not disrupted through bandhs, morchas and the like.

Mr Badal specially spoke to his senior party colleague and Union Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa of ways to deal with the situation in case the Capt Amarinder Singh government arrested him without disturbing normality in Punjab.

He directed that in the event of his arrest, a five-member presidium of the SAD should evolve its plan of action in countering the Congress government in Punjab. This high power team should comprise Mr Dhindsa, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, Mr Kulwinder Singh Bhunder and Mr Ranjit Singh Brahmpura. It is apparent that the SAD is linking the threat of Mr Badal’s arrest with the impending SGPC elections.

Even as the SAD is gearing up to the meet the fallout arising from the possible arrest of Mr Badal, the situation is evidently hotting up in Punjab in the wake of the upcoming Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections.

The SGPC is weighted heavily in favour of Mr Badal at present. The effort of the Congress at the helm of affairs in Punjab is purportedly to break the stranglehold of the SAD and demolish Mr Badal’s religious base.

During his discussions with Mr Advani, Mr Badal is believed to have briefed him about the Punjab Government suddenly providing beefed up security to those members of the executive committee of the SGPC owing allegiance to Mr Badal. The SAD supremo insisted that these members had not sought any security from Capt Amarinder Singh’s government leading to a fresh bout of political gamesmanship.

Mr Badal claims that even though he did not have anything personal against Capt Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Chief Minister wanted him behind bars and the control of SGPC handed over to Gurcharan Singh Tohra.