JALANDHAR: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) and the Bahujan Samaj Party have finally reached on an agreement to contest the forthcoming general elections of the Shiromani ‘Gurdwara Prabanahdak Committee with aim of “cleansing,” the management of the gurdwaras from “manuwadi” Sikhs such as Gurcharan Singh Tohra.
Announcing this at a press conference, held, here after a joint meeting Jasbir Singh Rode, former Akal Takhat jathedar and Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) leader and Avtar Singh Karim Puri, general secretary of the state unit of the BSP, said that in order to guard the interests of the Sikhs it has been unanimously resolved to field only ‘puran Gursikh and Amrit dhari’ (baptized) Sikhs, as per the provisions of the Sikh Gurdwara Act.
However, no decision has so far been made on the sharing of seats. But both the leaders made it clear that the combine would contest all the 140 seats of the House, and if it comers majority in the House, Prof. Darshan Singh would be made the president of the SGPC by way of nomination as per the provisions enshrined in the Sikh Gurdwara Act, Rode and Karim Puri added.
Karim Puri ruled out the possibility of any differences on the division of seats and said that the BSP is not contesting the election to get political mileage but was aimed at freeing the management of the gurdwaras from the clutches of the fake Sikhs who have miserably failed to guard the interests of the community. To a question whether the BSP believes in combining religion and politics, Karim Puri asserted that his party has faith in the Sikh principle of ‘miri and Piri’.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 17, 1996
