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Journalism of Courage
Bibi Jagir Kaur should have resigned from the post of SGPC chief long ago. She should have done so when she was first named as the prime accused in the FIR resulting from a preliminary CBI inquiry into the mysterious death of her daughter Harpreet. Or when the CBI dragnet closed in on her close aides and friends. She should have stepped down from her position of eminence and influence so that investigations could proceed in a free and fair manner. But Bibi Jagir Kaur did not take this honourable course. She went into hiding instead 8212; avoiding public appearances and skipping official appointments. It would be unrealistic, therefore, to bank upon the Bibi8217;s conscience now that the charge against her has been changed from 304 IPC culpable homicide not amounting to murder to 302 IPC murder. Clearly, Shiromani Akali Dal chief and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal must immediately ask her to resign as SGPC chief.
But therein, unfortunately, lies another tale. Questions have been raised about Badal8217;s own conduct in the murky affair. Fingers have been pointed at his attending Harpreet8217;s hurried cremation within hours of her death, an act his media managers have dismissed as a quot;social engagementquot; and one the CBI considers as destruction of evidence. Ever since the scandal broke out, the chief minister has maintained a studied silence broken only by his attempts to fob off demands within the party for her resignation. With SGPC elections due later this month, Badal, it would appear, has decided not to decide; his strategy seems to be to let his protege8217;s tenure lapse on its own. The reasons for his reluctance to take action against the Bibi may not be far to seek. During the latest bout of hostilities between long-time rivals Badal and G.S. Tohra, Bibi Jagir Kaur was a key figure in the Badal camp. Her installation as chief of SGPC, displacing Tohra from his established perch at its helm, heralded Badal8217;s victory over hisbete noire. It also marked his gaining control over both the political and religious arena of the Sikh community in Punjab. But the chief minister must realise that his silence and inaction will be read as complicity and that the ignominy of the allegations against his protege is bound to spill over and taint his entire party and government.
