DAMDAMA SAHIB: April 13 was the day of political acrobatics in the Akali politics, as leaders belonging to various factions Spoke from different platforms and reverted to their previous positions.
The acting jathedar of Akal Takht Manjit Singh had, on Tuesday night, directed the Akali leaders to Submit their written resignations when they had offered to leave the posts amid a high tension drama enacted soon after Khalsa March concluded here.
Though observers expected all Akali leaders to speak from the same platform, after the ongoing political deliberations between different groups, the opposite happened when Akali Dal (Badal), and other Akali factions led by Simranjit Singh Mann and Bhat Manjit Singh held separate conferences.
Akali Dal (Badal) president Parkash Singh Badal, who felt betrayed, claimed that he did not want to disobey the Akal Takht directive. He said that he would send his written resignation and explanation to the jathedar of Akal Takht. On Tuesday night, when leaders of all factions offered their resignations, Badal had strongly protested Saying that the entire exercise was a conspiracy against him.
Simranjit Singh Mann said that he stood by his resignation from the post of party president and would make no pre-conditions for unity. At the same time, he asserted that he would never stop striving for a sovereign Sikh state. Jasbir Singh Rode, the Akal Takht jathedar appointed by the Sarbat Khalsa in 1986 and released from jail on Tuesday evening, was present on the Mann Dal stage. In reply to a question, he said that he would give his opinion to acting Jathedar Manjit Singh only if the latter sought his advice.
Bhai Manjit Singh, president of another Akali faction, said that he had offered his resignation hoping that all Akali leaders would speak from the same platform. However, the response from other factions was not encouraging. While accepting the supremacy of Akal Takht he appealed to the Akal Takht jathedar to resolve the issue keeping in view the interests of all concerned. Gurcharan Singh Tohra and acting Jathedar Manjit Singh had left for Amritsar, late on Tuesday night, after the resignation drama culminated into an open confrontation between Dal (Badal) and Tohra. According to sources, Badal told Tohra that he had been stabbed in the back.
While talking to reporters, Akali leaders Surjit Singh Barnala, Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Captain Amrinder Singh professed complete unity amongst themselves and hoped that Panthic unity would also be achieved.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 22, 1994
