LUDHIANA: A new Akali Dal Comprising mainly of the family Members and supporters of Baba Joginder Singh father of late Sant Jamail Singh Bhindranwale is in the offing. It will take birth on May 3 when a meeting of the working committee and district jathedars of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) shalt take place at 11 a m. ot Ladhiana’s Gurdwara Dukhinjwiran.

The new Akali Dal is being contaminated by a large number of SAD (M) leaders who have risen in revolt against the leadership of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann and have decided to choose their new leader at Friday’s meeting.

About one dozen of these leaders held a meeting here on Monday and summoned the proposed meeting. Those who attended the meetings were vice-president Swaran Singh Panjgraian Captain Har Charan Singh Rode. Mr Tejwant Singh Grewal Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bulara Master Dev Raj Singh Mr Sardul Singh Barundi Mr Ajit Singh Bhangu Bhai Amolak Singh Mr Gurmit Singh Khudian Bhai Shiv Charan Singh Mr Satmam Singh Jalandhar and Mr Baldev Singh Zira. The meeting took place at the residence of Mr Grewal.

Though the May 3 meeting is officially stated to discuss organisational and panthic matters in the present context it is certain to choose a new leader of the party there. Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bulara former MP clarified that she had not resigned from the Akali Dal but had dissociated from the leadership of Mr Mann All these rebel leaders also feel the same way

At the meeting the members are believed to have deplored the dictatorial attitude of Mr Mann in selecting the party nominees for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Mr Mann even failed to wake the party’s parliamentary board into confidence im this exercise and distributed tickets to his favorites as he chose.

These leaders are not opposed to elections in Punjab and some of them are candidates from various constituencies though they have been denied party tickets. They said the party working committee decided at Damdama Sahib on April 13 last to take part in elections and empowered Mr Mann in this regard. However there is strong resentment among them over the manner of election of candidates.

When a senior party leader was asked if the May 3 meeting would not harm the oft-repeated call for panthic unity he said at the moment they were concerned with long term panthic interests and the proposed meeting would think only of path’s betterment.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 3, 1991