SGPC, Shiromani Akali Dal will not honor Rao: Tohra

PATIALA: The president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Gurcharan Singh Tohra, said here that the traditional saropa would be presented to the Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, when he visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar, but the SGPC and the Shiromani Akali Dal would not honor him.

Tohra recalled that Rao was part of the three-member committee which had been sent to Punjab by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after “Operation Bluestar,” but its report had not been helpful in resolving the states problem.

Talking to newsmen here, on Friday, after inaugurating the 5th All-India Sikh Educational Conference at Patiala by hoisting the “kesri nishan,” Tohra said the main tragedy of Punjab was that the Center had plundered its resources and the Punjab Congress (I) leadership had failed to fight it.

He lashed out at the Punjab Congress (I) leadership for not taking a firm stand on the demands of the people of Punjab and urged them to follow the example set by Karnataka Chief Minister Bangarappa, who was determined to protect the water rights of the people of the state despite the pressure of the Central government, Replying to a question, Tohra said the Akalis had no regrets over the poll boycott issue, and asserted that Assembly or Lok Sabha seat had become insignificant for the Sikhs since they wanted the establishment of an independent State,

He accused the Beant Singh led Congress (I) ministry of strangulating the panchayat system in Punjab by abolishing the development boards which had been formed in Punjab during Presidents rule last year in order to involve the pan and sarpanches in rural development activities.

Tohra asserted that the recent Punjab poll was a referendum on the issues raised by the Akalis, as a result of which only 10% of the voters had supported the candidates of the Congress (I) where an overwhelming majority of the electorate had sided with the six Panthic organizations,

Replying to another question, Tohra said the so-called package had become irrelevant. The people of Punjab would not allow the flow of water in the SYL canal. The Center also did not have the power to prevent the transfer of Chandigarh to the state,

He reiterated that the formation of the Congress (I) ministry in Punjab or the announcement of any package would not bring any dramatic change in the present situation of the state and that normalcy could not return to Punjab unless the militants, who had been spearheading Sikh struggle, were involved in the talks.