CHANDIGARH: Four Panthic organizations, the Babbar Akali Dal, the Akali Dal (Baba), Sikh Students Federation (MehtaChawla) and Babbar Sikh Vidyarthi Jathebandi, on March 9 announced plans, to establish a single Akali Dal and a single student’s federation by Baisakhi day.

Addressing a joint press conference here, Kartar Singh Narang, Sukhbir Singh, Virsa Singh Valtoha, Amrik Singh Muktsar, Gurnam Singh Sidhu and Jatinder Singh Sandhu, said that their attempt would be to bring together likeminded organizations on the slogan of “independent ‘Sikh raj.” In this connection, they identified the Akali Dal (Mann) as one organization which shared their viewpoint. They, however, accused the Akali Dal (Badal) of running away from the resolution of “Khalsa raj” adopted at Anandpur Sahib last year at a meeting of large number of Panthic Organizations.

They were of the view that the Akali Dal (Badal) had adopted the resolution when the militants ruled the roost in the state, but now that they had suffered serious reverses and no longer held sway, the Dal (B) had changed its tune.

The leaders said that their organizations would strive for “Khalsa raj” in a peaceful and democratic manner and would Not resort to any armed struggle, Asked for the reasons for the decline of the militant movement, they said it had been infiltrated by police and intelligences as also criminal elements who had nothing to do with ideology. They were, however, of the view that the setback to the militant movement was temporary and it might gain strength again in the coming months.

These leaders also bitterly attacked the Akali Dal headed by Bhai Manjit Singh and accused its leadership of preventing them from holding a conference on the occasion of Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib Monday. They said the stage of the Dal (M) had been conducted by a police officer who had also prepared a list of speakers at the conference. They had boycotted the conference and taken out a procession in protest at Anandpur Sahib.

Virsa Singh Valtoha, general secretary of the Babbar Sikh Vidyarthi Jathebandi, alleged that Bhai Manjit Singh had purchased Hotel Imperial at Amritsar for a sum of Rs 1.20crore in association with the Punjab Minister of State for Public Works, Maninderjit Singh Bitta.

Article extracted from this publication >>  March 12, 1993