LUDHIANA: Parkash Singh Badal, president of the Akali Dal (Badal), is now trying to woo members of the Gurmat Sidhant Pracharak Sant Samaj in his bid to wrest the SGPC from Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

Badal is understood to have met some of the senior functionaries of the Sant Samaj at Gurdwara Jodhan Mansuran, about 15 km from here recently. Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi is the convener of the sant samaj and also runs the gurdwara.

According to sources, Badal was closeted with Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi and other sants of the organization for about an hour.

The Sant Samaj and the SGPC are at loggerheads over the issue of implementation of the “rehat maryada” for the Sikhs, The SGPC, which tied to change the “’maryada” started by Bhai Jasbir

Singh Rode as jathedar of Akal “Takht, could not do so last year.

There are differences between SGPC and the sant samaj over the Appointment of the Akal Takht jahedar,

The sant samaj released the draft of the “rehat maryada” and the “mool mantar™ at its three-day sammelan held at Ludhiana in May. The sammelan had reiterated that the Akal Takht jathedar should be acceptable to all and not be subservient to the SGPC.

 “Badal and the saints present at Guniwara Jodhan Mansuran are understood to have discussed the issues confronting the sant Samaj and the SGPC. The strategy adopted by them was to keep the Confrontation on.

The sant samaj had set up a committee for parieys with the SGPC and the jathedar of Akal Takht on the issue of “rehat maryada.”” No Meeting has, however, taken place so far, The acting Takht Jathedar, Prof Manjit Singh, is away on a foreign tour and will return in the beginning of August.

Besides wooing the saints of the deras in Punjab, Badal is also personally contacting SGPC members and trying to win them over.

 Badal has also been trying to launch a signature campaign against the SGPC chief.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Akali Dal (Amritsar) are not bothered about Badal’s moves as they feel he cannot succeed because Tohra enjoys the support of the SGPC members.

Tohra has won over a majority of the SGPC members and there is no threat 16 his leadership, Besides, Surjit Singh Bamala and Jagdev Singh Talwandi also have their followers in the SGPC and all of them put together enjoy the sup- port of more than 60 members. At present, there are about 100 members of the SGPC who have the right to vote.

 SGPC sources say that it is very difficult to defeat Tohra in the present set-up.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the state government to hold the general elections to the SGPC within a year. But there is a remote possibility of this.

Meanwhile, both Akali Dalshave stepped up their drive for enrolling members for their respective parties. Both are claiming overwhelming response from the people and assert that they have each distributed 30 lakh member- ship forms.

The Akali Dal (Amritsar) has formed a working committee which gives representation to all groups and includes all important leaders, including the former Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, Ravi Inder Singh, and former Minister of Health in the Barnala Government, S. S. Dhillon.

The Akali Dal (Amritsar) leaders have reportedly won over Mr. Badal uncle, who is now politically, opposed to him. Two cousins of Badal are also reported to have extended support to the party.

Article extracted from this publication >> August 5, 1994