M A I N   N E W S

SGPC men go into hiding
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 19
“We have left our homes as we were virtually under house arrest at our native places in Punjab. Police and other top civil officers have been harassing us regarding the election of the President of the SGPC”, said 25 odd pro- Badal members of the SGPC, who have taken shelter at various religious places in Haryana, leaving Punjab for the past few days.

The SGPC members said government officers had been playing the role of politicians. “They have been telling us to help Mr Ravi Inder Singh and Mr Gurcharan Tohra in the SGPC elections and quit Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s party”, they lamented.

The tussle between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra over the election of the President of the SGPC to be held by November 30 has escalated to a critical level. Pro- Badal SGPC members say that though Mr Tohra has asserted that he would not be a candidate for presidentship, he was taking an extraordinary interest in the SGPC elections.

The SGPC members, who reached Gurdwara Nada Sahib, near here, from Paonta Sahib and other places today told “The Tribune” that they had been forced to leave their houses due to pressure tactics of Mr Ravi Inder Singh and Mr Tohra, who are allegedly using Government machinery to “terrorise” them.

The members held a closed-door meeting with Mr Badal. Bibi Jagir Kaur, former Chief of the SGPC, said “At least we are moving about freely in Haryana while policemen in Punjab had been following us like a shadow”. Though none of them had sought security from the government, it was thrust on them to keep watch on them”, she added.

In fact, every member has his or her own story to tell. Mrs Tejinder Kaur Setia from Rajpura, who was a part of the group, said that her husband was bedridden for the past two years. He was unable to drink even a glass of water himself. “ But as police and other officers continued to harass me, I decided to quit the house till the SGPC elections are over”, she said. Mr Partap Singh, SGPC member from Jalandhar, who is also an advocate by profession, said that he had never stayed out from his house earlier. But now he had no alternative except to stay in Haryana. “ I did not seek any security, but that was forced on me. At last on October 15, I preferred to escape through the rear door to join SGPC members in Haryana”, he added.

He said that if the state government was really concerned about their safety, it should provide security guards to them after November 30, when the elections would be over. “But at present, we have no threat to our lives,” he added.

Mr Surinder Kaur and Mr J.S. Phaguwala said their buses had been impounded by the Transport Department authorities for the past several days. Officials concerned allegedly told them that the buses would be released only if they promised to vote against Mr Badal’s candidate in the election. Among the members present at Nada Sahib were Mr Rattan Singh Alhoran, Mr Joginder Singh Panjrath, Mr Partap Singh, Mr Mohinder Singh, Mr Tarlochan Singh, Mr Ranjit Singh, Mr Shingara Singh, Bibi Bhajan Kaur, Mr J. Bahaudur Singh, Mr Balbir Singh, Mr Bhagwant Singh, Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Kamlesh Kaur. Some members of the SGPC from Haryana also accompanied them.