AMRITSAR, JUNE 28: Akal Takht Jathedar, Bhai Ranjit Singh today said no case was made out against Congress leader Amarinder Singh for attempting to ``mislead'' the five Sikh high priests by producing a ``fabricated'' photograph of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra's alleged meeting with leaders of the Nirankari sect.Talking to The Indian Express here he said the case against Tohra was taken up by the high priests themselves. The main thrust of the letter written to them by Amarinder Singh was a plea for withdrawal of the Akal Takht hukamnama barring Sikhs from maintaining any kind of social interaction with the Nirankaris, he said and added this plea had been ``promptly rejected'' by them in their first meeting with the Congress leader.The Sikh clergy had exonerated Tohra on the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to prove his guilt.Though the jathedar claimed that the decision to close the case against Tohra was unanimous, reliable sources maintainedthat the high priests were divided on the issue of action against Tohra.Tohra supporters while claiming the exoneration of Tohra as a personal victory for him which they feel will strengthen his position within the Shiromani Akali Dal allege that a senior minister in the Badal Cabinet was conniving with Amarinder Singh in an attempt to pull him down.However, the manner in which Tohra has been bailed out of the controversy, has raised many eyebrows. It is being pointed out in Sikh circles that the high priests had not given weightage to whether that Tohra had actually visited the Nirankari Bhawan in Patiala or not. The verdict centred around the SGPC chief's denial of having appealed to the Nirankaris for votes and accepting a siropa from them.It is also being mentioned that Tohra did not react to Amarinder's suggestion that he (Tohra) take an oath at the Golden Temple denying any visit to Nirankari Bhawan.Meanwhile, Shiromani Youth Akali Dal president Kuldip Singh Kahlon in a statement here saidthe decision of the high priests had created ``confusion in the minds of the Sikh masses''. There is no parallel in Sikh history of the way the case against Tohra had been ``hushed up'', he alleged and maintained that the SGPC chief had clearly violated the Akal Takht hukamnama.Punjab Youth Congress vice-president Amarjit Singh Tikka said that irrespective of the Akal Takht verdict, Amarinder Singh had ``successfully exposed the politico-religious nexus'' in the Shiromani Akali Dal.
