CHANDIGARH: Apart from militants a section of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann’s erstwhile party supporters have also raised the banner of revolt against him on the unity issue.
Major Jagjit Singh a member of the Akali Dal (Mann) working committee resigned earlier this month accusing the Akali combine led by Mr Mann of aiming to “obliterate the good work done by Sant Jarnail Singhji Khalsa Bhindranwale and to side-track the Sarbat Khalsa of Jan 26-1986″.
He also joined Mr Gurtej Singh and Mr Sukhinder Singh who had resigned from the working committee some time ago and formed the Sikh Citizens Council to attack the developments pertaining to the dialogue with the Centre and to Akali unity as “a great political fraud being perpetrated on the people of Punjab”.
Talking to newsmen the three Akali leaders said there was not the slightest doubt that the negotiations with the Prime Minister had ended in “total failure”.
They said Mr Simranjit Singh was trying to “hoodwink the masses by keeping this failure a closely guarded secret just as he was tightlipped about the details of his discussions with the Prime Minister and the memorandum he had presented to him”
As a consequence of the failure of the talks the Government is poised for an Army action which will be a repetition of the actions of 1984 and 1986” they said adding it would be done in connivance with the new Akali combine which had agreed to make “meaningless noises and register puerile protests while elimination of the motivated Sikh youth and militants is carried on”. In return the combine expected the Government to hold elections in Punjab to install it in power they said.
The Sikh Citizens Council called upon all Punjabis to do everything legitimate to avert the impending crisis and requested the Prime Minister to avoid falling in the “trap” laid for him by the new Akali combine. The Sikhs expected him to end their intense and prolonged sufferings. He then said was one of the last links of goodwill between the country and the Sikhs and he should not snap the bond by ordering a bloody Army action.
The council leaders called upon the organisations including all sections of the Sikh Students Federation MPs non-political organisations and the militants to jointly send a “probe mission” to find out what exactly were the contents of the Prime Minister’s recent offer to solve Punjab problem.
All concerned must immediately enter into a totally open dialogue with the Government on various aspects of the problem they said.
They said the Akali leaders must show mercy towards Sikh masses from which they had received much affection over the years.
Major Jagjit Singh disclosed that the idea of self-determination was given to Mr Mana by the Centre. “It was I who had delivered a sealed envelope to Mr Mann at Talwandi Sabo on April 13 last and Mr Mann was overjoyed to read the contents”. It was after the receipt of this letter that Mr Mann had announced the right to self-determination Mr Manno had secret links with Mr Rajiv Gandhi he alleged.
The council leaders ridiculed Mr Mann’s claim that a section of militants were with him. Both the Panthic Committees had lambasted Mr Mann’s claim he said.
They said the Akali leaders had forgotten in the flush of their newly found unity the water interests of Punjab and had stopped issuing statements against the SYL which the Deputy Prime Minister Mr Devi Lal had claimed would carry Haryana’s water this very year.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 1, 1991
