Chandigarh, May 31
Intervention by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has cleared the way for holding the SGPC elections as scheduled on July 11, according to a top Akali leader.
Requesting not to be quoted, the Akali leader said here today that the Prime Minister refused to the toe the Union Home Ministry's line that the SGPC elections should be postponed at this stage when the election symbols had already been allotted to different political organisations and all other preliminary arrangements had been completed for holding the elections.
The PM was of the opinion that it would send a wrong signal and create controversy giving Akali leaders an agenda to strike against the ruling party.
Meanwhile, sources said the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had approached the Prime Minister's office this morning to lodge his protest against the Home Ministry's move to postpone the elections. Controversy regarding the move to postpone the SGPC elections started immediately after the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh's meeting with the Union Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, during the last weekend. After that meeting, reports had appeared in the media that there was a definite move to defer the elections.
Mr Badal had immediately raised a hue and cry projecting it as an anti Shiromani Akali Dal ( SAD) stance of the Congress-led government in the Centre.
Sources said that Mr Badal had got the information that the Union Home Ministry had drafted a letter for the postponement of the SGPC elections on May 29.
Mr Badal had then immediately contacted several influential persons in Delhi to get the Home Ministry's move scuttled.
However, as he did not get adequate response, he had rushed to the media on the issue.
Yesterday also Mr Badal had wrote to the Prime Minister, President of India on this issue, urging both to intervene to get the elections held as scheduled.
Meanwhile, today the Gurdwara Election Commission issued a press statement that the process of filing the nomination papers by aspirants would start tomorrow.
Meanwhile, All India Shiromani Akali Dal (AISAD) said today that it was determined to oppose the SAD-BJP combine in the SGPC elections.
The party said that the combine had failed to serve Punjab in general and Sikhs in particular and it should be defeated in the SGPC elections.
Mr Jaswant Singh Mann, President of the Dal, said that the Congress had denied the Sikhs their legitimate political rights during the past five decades.
He said that Mr Badal's control over the SGPC should be removed, as it would be in the interest of Sikhs in the long run.
