LUDHIANA: Senior Akali leader, Simranjit Singh Mann, has appealed to Kashmiri militants to immediately release the civilians and foreigners they have been holding as hostages for the past few weeks, ‘Talking to media persons here, last week, Mann felt these detentions of innocent persons were harming the cause of militants, rather than helping it “Let them go back to their families,” he said.

Mann, who was released from jail, last week, after six and half months, welcomed the recent verdict of the Supreme Court recognizing the right of a political party to appeal to a Particular segment of society without provoking the other community.

In the light of this judgment which he said recognized that religion and politics were intermixed, he called upon the traditional Akali leadership to spell out if I still felt a threat of disqualification in the event of adhering to the Amritsar Declaration as its goal.

In his opinion, the traditional Akalis had given a go bye to this historic declaration so as to retain their relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, Mann, who was accompanied by a large number of his supporters, lashed out at Parkash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

He disclosed that he did not yet recognize Badal as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, He said he would recognize him only after meeting him during the next few days and ascertaining if he was firm on all the decisions regarding Panthic unity taken at the Akal TAkht. Asked to elaborate, he said the Amritsar Declaration was the lop most decision taken there, besides setting up of a unity committee. Here retied that afterwards several unity panels were constituted unilaterally by traditional Akalis and were dissolved unilaterally without taking him in to confidence.

He criticized the Akalis for obliterating the memory of these who died in the Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar.

At the same time he said he would strengthen the Akali unity and would meet Badal, Baba Thakur Singh of Damdami Taksal, Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode and Sant Ajit Singh for the purpose shortly.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 28, 1995