NEW DELHI: The Akali Dal faction led by former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, lent active support to the Sangh parivar in Delhi in making their defiance of the ban on Feb.25 rally successful.
Reports reaching the Delhi Police Suggest that the Badal faction’s Delhi unit, led by its president Avatar Singh “Hit’ carting realists from other slates to gurdwaras in Delhi in a clandestine manner. It may be recalled that the Badal group had formed an electoral understanding with the BJP in the New Delhi Lok Sabha by-election when Congress candidate Rajesh Khanna defeated the BJP’s Shatrughan Sinha. Also, Badal had attended kar seva at Ayodhya, but not on December 6. The former Punjab Chief Minister has also met RSS Joint General Secretary Rajinder Singh in this connection. This joint effort by the Sikhs and Hindus, so to say, has made the job tougher for the security forces, for the last seven days, secret conclaves have been held in at least three major gurdwaras in Delhi. The meetings included many Rashtriya Sevak Sangh (RSS) pracharaks who gave out plans. RSS activists, who have infiltrated into Delhi and Sangh leaders have been given shelter in various gurdwaras and temples, Said a senior police official. Among the two gurdwaras named are: Rakabgan)j and Bangla Sahib, both in New Delhi area where the Boat Club also falls. The Nanakpura Gurdwara, near Dhaula Kuan, has also been listed as a shelter.
Secret messages, in codes, were being passed around during langar in these gurdwaras, Most of the messages related to the places of stay and the necessary camouflage to be adopted. Plans for rally were passed around Wednesday.
A senior police official said that the activists hiding in gurdwaras {0 created trouble in communally sensitive areas.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 5, 1993
