AMRITSAR: As the Akal leaders Continued to collectively perform religious service in the Golden temple complex under the directions of the Akal Takbt jathedar for the second day the chances of the Badal group joining the Akali unity bandwagaon receded somewhat last week.
The day long program of listening to “Kirtan” dusting shoes of devotes cleaning “langar” utensils and washing the “parkarma™ of the holy Sikh shrine has started telling on the physical condition of the Akali leaders with many of them complaining of body aches.
Amarinder Singh in particular was off color since morning when he threw up while going to listen to kirtan in the early hours He had to be attended by a doctor and could not toke past in the “seva” during the rest of the day.
Though the leaders outwardly were one in claiming that the seva was giving them immense: happiness their faces betrayed their inner feelings.
Meanwhile Akal Takht jathedar while talking to media persons after the culmination of Thursdays seva said he would like the intermixing of the Akali Leaders to continue till they ironed out their differences. He expressed satisfaction that the leaders were performing seva and holding negotiations between themselves in a most cordial atmosphere.
The Akal Takht jathedar maintained that the current unity effort was 3 “historic tum” for the Sikh “quam” as he did not want it to pass through the pain it had undergone over the past decade. He said for Panthic unit it was necessary to first forge unity in the Akali Dal which was and continued to remain an important part of the Sikh panth.
Reiterating that the doors of the Akal Takht were always open for all Sikhs including Parkash Singh Badal he said he was more concerned with removing the pain of the Sikhs than with the leader of the Akalis.
He said an open invitation was ex-tended to all to join the two Khalsa marches taken out from Anandpur Sahib and Srihargobindpur Congress leaders like Iqbal singh and Joginder singh Mann Punjab Minister had been meeting him and others were also welcome provided they came to him as Sikhs and not as leaders.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 6, 1994
