AMRITSAR: The bickering between the Akali Dal (Manjit) and the AISSF, intensified as Jasbir Singh Ghuman, president of the federation, challenged his “suspension” from the post on Saturday by Bhai Manjit Singh.
Talking to newsmen in the District Courts complex here where he was brought by the police from Ludhiana jail for extension of his judicial remand, Dr.Ghuman said that the action of Bhai Manjit Singh, president of the Manjit faction, was “irrelevant” since he had no right to take action cither against the president or any other office-bearer of the AISSF. “There is no question of his interference in the affairs of the federation since it is Separate identity and not a copy of the party of Bhai Manjit Singh.”
Accusing Bhai Manjit Singh of “playing into the hands of the Delhi rulers” he challenged his statement that he took action as a “‘patron of the organization, Ghuman said that Bhai was not chosen as the patron in the elections of the organization held on Oct.1 as since its inception in 1944 “there is no practice of having a patron of the federation,”
Bhai Manjit Singh’s Akali faction had no base since it was raised without any enrollments of members and election of delegates.
Ghuman said that he had not yet got the show cause notice of his so-called suspension “but if received I will not take notice of it.” Ghuman accused Bhai Manjit Singh of stabbing in the back of the Sikh ‘panth” by withdrawing from the morcha launched for the Sikh cause when he was party to the joint decision of seven Akali factions and Sikh organizations.
He refuted that he had become a “stooge” of the SGPC president, G.S.Tohra and added that he had “not become a stooge of the rulers of Delhi.”
Ghuman objected to the function being held by Bhai Manjit Singh to observe the death anniversary at Mukstar on Nov.10 of a former president of the AISSF and his elder brother, Bhai Amrik Singh who was slain during Operation Bluestar in 1984, He alleged he was doing this on the suggestion of the Delhi rulers since his anniversary fell on June 6 and not on Nov. 10.
Meanwhile, the Akali Dal (Mann) president, Simranjit Singh Mann, who was also brought for extension of remand, too was critical of Bhai Manjit Singh for his withdrawal from the ‘morcha’ and suspension of Ghuman.
Mann said that Bhai Manjit Singh had no night to suspend anybody of the federation.
Meanwhile, Mann, Ghuman and 12 others were remanded to judicial custody till Nov.23.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 12, 1993
