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Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, was released on furlough for 21 days on Monday. The relief to Dera head comes just days before Punjab goes to polls on February 20. Despite claiming he is apolitical, Gurmeet Ram Rahim has extended direct and indirect backing to parties and individual politicians in earlier elections. A large chunk of Ram Rahim’s followers are Dalit, and the Dera has a significant presence in Malwa, which has 69 of the 117 seats in the Assembly.
Ram Rahim had been trying to get out of prison ever since he completed three years of his sentence. His earlier attempts to seek parole had been rejected by the district administration, citing the possibility of disruption of law and order.
After he was convicted of rape by the Special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017, his followers had gone on the rampage across the state.
In the 72 hours of mayhem, especially in Panchkula and Sirsa, clashes between police and protesters had led to the deaths of at least 38 people.
This time, Ram Rahim submitted a written request for furlough to the Jail Superintendent in Rohtak, who forwarded the application to the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner with his comments. The Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner and Police Commissioner then submitted their recommendations to the Divisional Commissioner, Rohtak, who approved the 21-day furlough.
This will be the longest that Ram Rahim will be staying out of prison since his conviction. He will be required to stay within his premises in Gurgaon during the February 7-27 furlough period.
The Dera claims it has lakhs of followers in the state. It has significant influence in the Malwa region that has 69 of the 117 seats in the Assembly.
“We have a large base of followers is in Malwa in areas such as Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Barnala, Sangrur, Moga, Patiala, Ludhiana etc. We do have followers in Doaba and Majha too in districts Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Tarn Taran, Amritsar etc. We have over 40 lakh followers in Punjab and a wave of happiness is among the followers,” said Ram Singh Insaan, political committee member of Dera Sacha Sauda.
The Malwa region comprises the districts of Ferozepur, Bathinda, Muktsar, Sangrur, Mansa, Patiala, Barnala, Faridkot, Moga, Ludhiana, and Mohali.
The majority of the Dera’s followers are Dalits. Several groups of Dalits had complained to Congress leaders about alleged harassment by police after the violence following Ram Rahim’s conviction.
At 32%, Punjab has the largest share of Dalit population among all states in the country.
Even though the Dera has a political wing, Ram Rahim has always claimed that his followers are free to support any political party or candidate they like. He has claimed that he does not issue any political diktat to them. That, however, may be only technically true — if at all.
In the elections of 2002, after which Capt Amarinder Singh became Chief Minister for the first time, the Dera was perceived as extending behind-the-scenes support to the Congress.
In 2007, the support of the Dera was far more visible, but the Congress failed to form the government because it did badly in the Majha and Doaba regions.
In 2012, Ram Rahim chose to support individual candidates instead of any party. In 2017, the Dera backed the SAD-BJP, but the alliance lost the election, and Amarinder Singh returned as Chief Minister. In Haryana, the Dera clearly threw its weight behind the BJP in the 2014 Assembly elections, acting as a force multiplier to the Narendra Modi wave nationwide, which powered the party to a clear majority for the first time in the state’s history. Several BJP MLAs made a beeline to the Dera to thank Ram Rahim after the results were declared.
Before Ram Rahim went to jail, senior leaders of all parties from Punjab, Haryana, UP, Delhi, and Rajasthan would visit him to seek his support.
A Barnala resident said: “A Nam Charcha organised in Salabatpura Dera in Bathinda last month was attended by politicians from across party lines. I think everyone will try to grab this vote bank and not just one political party.”
Ram Singh Insaan, political committee member of Dera Sacha Sauda, said that the Dera’s political committee hasn’t done any meeting with regards to Punjab polls so far.
“We have not directed anyone to vote or support a particular political party….We haven’t discussed anything on this issue as yet,” he said.
Asked if there will be any Nam Charcha in the coming days in Deras or not, Ram Singh added, “It will be decided in days to come. We haven’t planned any as of now. Moreover, it is being held as per Covid norms with a gathering of up to 1,000 persons in open areas.”
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While the Dera followers are elated, Sikh bodies have started gunning over his release. Sikh organisations are linking this furlough with BJP’s plan ahead of Punjab polls.
Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh said, “Even a layman can understand that it is a design of the BJP to get Dera premis votes in Malwa where they have an extremely poor base. It is pre-planned move of the BJP. Now, how will Sikh voters react to it, only time will tell.”
