NEW DELHL: The former Prime Minister, V. P. Singh, last week demanded a public apology from the Union Government in connection with the demolition of a few structures in the local Manu-ka- Tilla gurdwara complex.

Singh, who participated in a dharna organized by the Delhi unit of Shiromani Youth Akali Dal (Amritsar) here to press for action against the officials guilty of the demolition, alleged that the act of the authorities was without any prior notice to the management body of the gurdwara. “There was nobody now to own responsibility for the illegal act.”

As the government has not yet taken action against the guilty officials, it was quite clear that it had indulged in a conspiracy, he added.

Singh, who was accompanied by his Janata Dal (B) colleagues R. V. Paswanand R.S, Vidhuri, urged the government for immediate action against the erring officials and a firm commitment that such a “pernicious” act against any gurdwara would not be repeated in future.

The JD (b) leader’s involvement with today’s dhama and his tirade against the government come on the heels of the issue raised by Paswan in the Lok Sabha. A few days after the demolition had been conducted on June 23, Singh had visited the site

The members of the DSGMC and Shiromani Akali Dal (A), who spoke on the occasion lauded Singh and his party colleagues for taking up the cause of the gurdwara.

The president of the DSGMC, Manjit Singh Calcutta, whose presence at the dharna turned many a head, unclasped an attack on the Center, regarding the demolition.

He alleged that the Congress governments at the Center and Punjab were functioning in a “dictatorial” style. He referred the alleged in- criminating role of the Director-General of Police, Punjab, K, P. S. Gill, in the recent ‘assault on journalists in the national capital to substantiate his charge.

The participation of Calcutta in the dharna caused murmurs as he seemed to have violated the directive of the DSGMC which reportedly said that no other organization except it should organize protest activities against the demolition. The idea behind the directive ‘was not to diffuse the agitation.

However, Calcutta took part in this even though it was not organized by the DSGMC.

Among others, those who participated in the dhama were the vice-president of the DSGMC, Dr. Jaspal Singh, Nirvaidh Singh and Baksh Jagdev Singh (both connected to the DSGMC), the president of the All-India Sikh Conference (Babbar), Gurcharan Singh Babbar, Balwinder Singh Talwandi, Gurcharan Singh Rajouri, Ajeet Singh and Mrs. Narinder Kaur.

Article extracted from this publication >> August 5, 1994