PATIALA: The Amritsar Declaration is not a hindrance in the way of com- plete unity among the various Akali factions.
Stating this the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) presi- dent, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, said that the immediate agenda for the Akali Dal was to form a government in Punjab.
The declaration, which was a political aim of the Akalis had been “declared as a long-term demand to be achieved over a longer period of time,” disclosed Tohra here on March 19. Manjit Singh was also present at the time of the interview.
When asked if Simranjit Singh Mann had also agreed to postpone the declaration for implementation of the dec- laration Tohra said that Mann foft that the immediate aim of the Akalis should be to form their government in Punjab. He was saying this on the basis of a meeting he had with Mann in Patiala cestral jail last week.
They discussed the unity issue for over one hour and Mann also gave his consent to make the implementation of the declaration a “long-term demand and taking up issues of immediate concern and importance.”
When his attention was drawn to the political resolution of Anandpur Sahib which the Akalis said was resolved Tohra said “it was more extremist than the Amritsar declaration” be- cause it talked only of the Sikhs and a separate region for them whereas the Amritsar resolution was for the creation of a confederation for Punjabis. Tohra said, however, the senior leaders had agreed at the nine-member unity committee meeting held on March 13 not to raise these issues in the near future.
The members who participated in the meeting included Parkash Singh Badal, Capt. Amarinder Singh, Sucha Singh Chottepur, Manjit Singh, Kuldip Singh Wadala, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Col. Jasmer Singh Bala, Surjit Singh Barnala, Ranjit Singh Bramhpura, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and its convener, Ashok Singh Bargrian.
Tohra disclosed that at the unity committee members were of the view to not raise issues which could scare the non-Sikhs from the Akalis and Tohra also said that the unity issue had been completely resolved and an announcement would be made before Vaisakhi.
Regarding the party, Tohra said that it will be one leader, one working committee, and one parliament board. In reply to a specific question that who would lead the party, he said that it could be anyone, Manjit Singh, Gurcharan Singh Tohra or Parkash Singh Badal.
The SGPC chief said that there was tremendous response from Punjabis to the united party because a group of industrialists from Ludhiana expressed their confidence in the Akalis during a recent meeting with him at Ludhiana city. He said that Punjabis extended their support to the Akalis for two things.
One, the rampant corruption in the state had caused a realization among the industrialists that the Akali ministers had never compelled them to pay lakhs of rupees every other day during their rule. Two, when the Akalis form a government there would be complete peace in Punjab.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 24, 1995
