LUDHIANA: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) has charged the Akali Dal (Badal) and Akali Dal (Longowal) with joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party the Congress (1) and CPI and the intelligence agencies to form a grand alliance to oppose SAD (M) in the coming elections in Punjab and sabotage panthic unity.

In a press release issued here on Saturday the organising secretary of SAD (Mann) Mr Jit Singh alleged that Badal and Longowal factions which had earlier merged into his party broke away recently and revived their separate identities because their power-hungry leaders wanted to collect money during elections.

While deciding party candidates for elections the two factions were offered 15 seats which were to be given to leaders who had not acted disloyal with Sikh quom had not indulged in looting people. He alleged that the — former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal broke the poll negotiations saying he could not deny ticket to any of his candidates on these grounds

In fact the SAD (M) president Simranjit Singh Mann who was also present went a step further by alleging that Badal was no longer a Sikh leader as he was now speaking the language of the BJP. He refuted the claim of Badal promising a stable government saying Badal could not achieve that earlier how could this be expected of him in these troubled times. He ruled out unity with Badal saying he had already discarded him finding him useless.

‘The press release stated that after Mann’s victory in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections all other Akali factions approached him with the offer to merge into his party. But it alleged Badal got two statements issued from Amarinder Singh to the effect that Mann did not want panthic unity which was not true. At the June 1990 meeting of the party’s executive at Moga. Mann reportedly put forward the panthic unity issue. Though most of the members were reportedly opposed to the idea yet it was approved with an aim to unite ali Sikhs. A three member committee comprising Ranjit Singh Brahmpura Captain Harcharan Singh Rode and Bhai Ram Singh formed there gave Mann the authority to take a final decision on panthic unity and all factions accepted Mann as their leader.

Jit Singh who is also secretary of the parliamentary board of SAD (M) charged Badal and Longowal factions were in fact more interested in capturing power than panthic unity. Even when the unity negotiations were in progress these leaders in July last made efforts to get the dissolved state assembly revived.

Mann reportedly overlooked all this in the larger interest of Sikhs. He tried to cement panthic unity by inviting these leaders to and getting them public conferences and getting public pardon But these leaders did not attend the Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib Nathu ke Burj conference in Amritsar district and the one at Dharamkot Randhawa village in Gurdaspur because they were allegedly not interested in panthic unity. Still Mann gave them represented on the state executive committee and the district working committees. When Punjab elections were approved these factions demanded 36 nominations for themselves against which they were promised 15 seats with conditions which they refused and thus the united Dal broke up again.

Jit Singh appealed to the Sikh voters to decide themselves during elections who was really responsible for the sabotage of panthic unity and who was the real champion of their cause.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 31, 1991