JALANDH AR: The working ‘Committee of Akali Dal (Badal) ‘has decided to hold a party rally at it he Parade Ground in Chandigarh ‘0n Nov.14, to demand the dismissal of the Beant Singh government.

Talking to media persons, here last week, Sukhdev, ‘Singh Dhindsa, Secretary General of Dal (B), said that a memorandum to this effect would also be presented to the ‘Governor. The rally will be conducted in a peaceful and democratic way, he added.

Dhindsa said the party has not yet taken any decision on contesting the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) annual presidential elections next month. “Our main focus is on the elections to the General House of the SGPC,” he added.

Addressing media persons, Kuldip Singh Wadala, senior vice President of Dal (B), revealed that the senior leaders of the party have been deputed to mobilize party workers for the rally; He said that meetings would be held at all the district headquarters from November 1 to 11 for this purpose.

He alleged that the rule of law seldom prevailed in the state, Citing an example, Wadala said that in the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the senior most and most deserving candidate, Kuldip Singh, was ignored for being a Sikh, adding that Sikhs were being given second Class treatment.

He also demanded the immediate release of BKU activists rounded up last week. The culprits responsible for the 1984 riots have still not been punished, he added. Wadala said that Beant Singh should quit on moral grounds as all the appointments made by his government have been quashed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The proposed move to send commandos from Punjab to Assam and other states was also criticized.

When asked about any consensus on fielding a candidate for the Post of SGPC president, Wadala Said a person who will uphold the sanctity of gurdwaras and will be able to run these effectively should be fielded for this post, irrespective of which faction he belonged.

At meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee in Wadala village last week, the party president, Parkash Singh Badal, constituted a three member committee including Wadala, Gurdey Singh Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, to review the party position in the recently concluded panchayat samiti and zila Parishad elections.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  November 4, 1994