LUDHIANA: The president of the Shiromani Akal Dal (Badal), Parkash Singh Badal, asserted here that he would go ahead with organizing his party’s district-level meetings and claimed that the proposed anti-repression rally to be organized at Ludhiana on Aug.30 would be a great success. Badal, who was reacting to Chief Minister Beant Singhs statement that he should refrain from holding these meetings, observed that India was a democratic country which allowed every political party a right to hold democratic meetings. To put curbs on such gatherings, he remarked, amounted to inviting confrontation and sculling the democratic process. The former Chief Minister told newsmen that his was a peaceful and Democratic Party and all its meetings being held never posed a Jaw and order problem. He called upon the people of the state to launch a mass movement to check the ongoing police repression. Criticizing the curbs on people going-to attend the bhog ceremony of Harjinder Kaur, who died due to police beating at Latala village recently, Badal termed it as fascist anti-democratic and inhuman step. He lambasted the civil administration of Ludhiana district for becoming a silent spectator to all this finding itself helpless before the might of the police.
Badal said he was ready to have an open debate with top Congress leaders to assert the role of Sikhs and that of the Congress government’s inviliating the atmosphere in Punjab. He said the contribution of Sikhs in pre-independence and later years till date has been significant whether it was the fight for freedom, emergency and restoration of democracy. On the other hand, the Congress prime ministers have also betrayed the Sikhs.
Elaborating the argument, he said the promises made to Sikhs were never honored, the economic interests of Punjab were snatched away unconstitutionally. Punjab was denied the right to a linguistic state and later it was conceded and formed with many drawbacks, culminating in Army attack on the Golden Temple.
He remarked that instead of trying to remove these irritants and win over people through a bold political initiative, the government was indulging in greater repression on the public, The public anger, he warned, may erupt like a volcano which would be difficult to control.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 4, 1992
