LUDHIANA: The SGPC chief, Gurcharan Singh Tohra is firm in his decision to boycott the elections to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha in Punjab as he feels that the participation in elections will nullify the sacrifices made by the Sikh youth and repressive forces will be strengthened.
In an interview Tohra said that the Sikh struggle had become a worldwide issue now and his struggle emerged from a very genuine grouse that the government was anti-Punjab and anti- Sikh, and the government was suppressing the minorities in this country.
Contrary to this Sikhs had always looked after the interests of the country and that Punjabis”. To suppress this struggle the government resorted to repressive measures and a very large number of Sikh youths have been sacrificed. The govt measures also proved that the minorities and the Sikhs were being suppressed”, he said.
Tohra maintained that the participation in the elections at this juncture would mean that there was no repression on the Sikhs. Moreover, without finding a solution to the Punjab problem and aspirations of the Sikh youth, the elections in Punjab are meaning- less.
He said, “I am firm in my view that the participation in the elections will amount to betrayal of the sacrifices made by the Sikh youth. The Government must first come out with a solution to the Punjab problem and satisfy the Sikh youths. Only then the elections will have some meaning”.
Tohra called upon Sikh organizations and the Akali factions to ponder over the whole situation and then decide their course of action.
Replying to a question Tohra said, “The Sikh youths are quite aware now and they have seen the development around the world. The happenings in the Soviet Union have made it clear that no single party can rule a country forever. The Central Government should learn some lesson from developments in the Soviet Union and even President Gorbachev has admitted that confederation of States is the only solution”.
LUDHIANA: The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has decided not to participate in the all party meeting convened by union home minister S B Chavanat the Indian capital New Delhi on December 14.
Talking to newspersons here, SGPC president G SS Tohra said it would be of no use to attend such a meeting.
Akali Dal (M) president Simranjit Singh Mann and Akali Dal (B) president Prakash Singh Badal said they had received no invitation for the meeting so far, “Any decision on participation will be taken only after receipt of invitation”, the Akali leaders said.
Mann, however, said no solution to the problem was possible without involving militants in such talks.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 13, 1991
