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HSGPC May Lead to Confrontation
Path
The Badals need an emotive panthic issue for SGPC polls & they got
one
Sach Kanwal Singh
 NEW
DELHI/AMRITSAR: In a week of fast-paced developments on the issue of
separate SGPC for Haryana, Akali Dal MPs, backed by a few other
supporters, rocked both houses of Parliament asking the Congress to
desist from what they called "interference in internal affairs of
the Sikhs" as two factions leading the demand in Haryana united and
reiterated their resolve to get a separate body to manage Sikh
shrines in the state.
Now the Akali
Dal seems to be ready to raise temperatures even further. The SGPC
held a meeting of the executive committee on Monday, and has now
called for a general house session on the issue where fireworks are
expected on August 14 and possible talk of a confrontationist path
is likely to dominate.
Congress
leadership in Haryana has only added fire by talking of a referendum
and suggesting that the Sikhs of Haryana will now have a full say on
the issue. The Badals have rushed to scotch talk of referendum and
are strongly opposing it.
Congress
president Sonia Gandhi has already jumped into the fray, asking
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda to pull back from the brink
and not precipitate the matter. A few Sikh Congress MPs also seem to
have told the Congress high command not to get into a confrontation
mode since Prakash Singh Badal-Sukhbir Singh Badal would likely
prefer to raise the pitch.
Conventional
political wisdom in Punjab is that the Badals are open to make the
scenario noisier in view of the upcoming SGPC polls. The Akali Dal
in Punjab has moved so far away from panthic concerns and has turned
into a secular mainstream political party with all the concomitant
ills that it needs a high decibel issue to get votes from the
panthic core in order to retain control over the SGPC.
Carving out SGPC
in Haryana was one of Hooda’s poll promises in 2005 election
manifesto but he is under pressure from his own high command that
such a move, if forced, could have serious and adverse implications
in the neighbouring state.
Hooda lobby has
claimed that although Sonia was supportive of Hooda and “saw
through” Shiromani Akali Dal’s “politics” on this issue, she did not
want to send any wrong signals in Punjab. “It could open up many old
wounds if the Congress is seen or projected as meddling in the
religious affairs of the Sikh community in Punjab,” said a senior
leader from Punjab.
Another section
of the Congress is, however, supportive of Hooda’s moves. “If the
SGPC (in Punjab) remained non-political and acted like a religious
body, one could have understood its objections. But, the fact is,
they act like an extension of the SAD. What is wrong if Sikhs of
Haryana want to create their own SGPC?” asked Gurdaspur MP Partap
Singh Bajwa.
Hooda is taking
a legal opinion on this issue right now. His problem is he had
promised it in the election manifesto. He cannot backtrack on it
just before the elections.
But ever since
the issue played out at the national level with Parliament watching
loud noises over the proposed Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC) in Haryana, and support for the Badals' view point
came from the Samajwadi Party and a few others, the issue has been
witnessing fast paced developments.
The Sikh clergy
is to meet and the general house of the SGPC is expected to strike a
hard pose. The BJP is backing the Akalis and even in the Rajya Sabha,
S.S. Ahluwalia of the BJP led the protest, making it tough to run
the House.
On the Rakhar
Puniya mela in Bakala, the issue was at center stage. The Congress
leaders extended a peculiar argument. "If Parkash Singh Badal can
demand a separate Punjabi Suba, why not a separate gurdwara panel?
It is a genuine demand raised by Sikhs whom Badal had left in a
lurch after division of erstwhile Punjab State into Punjab, Himachal
and Haryana," said Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.
MP and former
chairperson of the Minorities Commission, Tarlochan Singh, is also
opposing the separate SGPC.
But in all
this din, there is little talk of the All India Gurdwara Bill which
possibly could have helped in solving this and many other related
issues.
12
August 2009
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