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Dhindsa V/s Barnala: Gaganjit
chucked out
WSN Network
PATIALA:
Internal infighting which was hardly a secret all these years in
Sangrur has finally
reached its
logical conclusion. Surjit Singh Barnala and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa,
the two Akali stalwarts from the area whose acceptability to the
Indian establishment is legendary, never eye to eye because of the
simplest reason no more nuanced than a question of turf. Within
hours of the news about Dhindsa’s defeat in Sangrur at the hands of
a Congress upstart youngman Vijay Inder Singla, Barnala family got
the axe from the Akali Dal. Acting on Dhindsa’s complaint, Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal expelled Gaganjit
Singh Barnala and a former minister Baldev Singh Mann from the
party. Gaganjit is Surjeet Singh Barnala ’ s son and
was involved in a rape case in which the victim, after detailed
narratives of her ordeal and hearings in the trial court, had
suddenly made a somersault to say her sufferings and injuries were
all because of a fall from a bicycle.
There was little reaction from
the Akali Dal at that time even though the truth wasn’t really so
elusive. Baldev Mann is considered close to the Barnala family. Both
the expelled leaders openly worked against Dhindsa. The Barnalas had
made it a do or die battle and worked for the Congress’ victory as
Singla seemed a candidate well placed to ensure Akali Dal’s defeat.
Dhindsa lost by a margin of about 40,000 votes. Gaganjit was MLA
from Dhuri during 2002-2007 and Mann was a minister in 1985 when
Barnala was the CM. Gaganjit holds Dhindsa, a former Indian minister
in Vajpayee’s government, as responsible for his own (Gaganjit’s)
defeat during the Assembly polls in 2007 in Dhuri which now falls in
Fatehgarh seat. Experts say last word has still not been said.
20
May 2009
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