CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Babbar Akali Dal gave a call to the Sikhs to forget about elections and give a united peaceful fight to the government to redeem their places of worship and honor of women folk.
In a statement the party convener Mr Kartar Singh said the Babbar Akali Dal was of the considered view that elections under the present constitutional framework would be an exercise in futility so far as the problems confronting Punjab were concerned. The Dal will shun the elections.
The ad hoc committee of the party which met at Ludhiana on Sunday was of the opinion that speculations for extending the electoral process to Punjab had whetted the political appetite of certain individuals who were ready to plunge into the electoral fray without any consideration for basic principles The Babbar Akali Dal would not seek any electoral glory or purely political gains. The party said those who were in a hurry to gain power should inform the Panth of the issues which they sought to solve through elections.
Mr Kartar Singh said the Sikhs were engaged in a life-and death struggle against the Centre which had launched a frontal attack against the dignity of the Sikhs. The Golden Temple continued to be surrounded by security forces. The panj piaras from Damdami Taksal were humiliated and dishonored during performance of their religious rites. The party also took a strong note of the insulting language used by an army officer against some villagers in Amritsar district.
The party also appealed to the secular-minded people and minorities to be aware of the designs of the Bharatiya Janata Party and raise their voice. It expressed the apprehension that the BJP was going to provoke communal tension throughout the country
Article extracted from this publication >> March 29, 1991
