You are a disgrace, Jathedar tells Badal

A group of Punjab ministers, including Finance Minister Kanwaljit Singh, have reached the city. Punjab police chief P C Dogra is camping here to monitor security arrangements. All entry points to the Golden Temple complex, which houses the Guru Nanak Niwas, thevenue of tomorrow’s meeting, are being guarded by policemen. In Ludhiana, Badal said that no trouble would be allowed at the SGPC meeting but declined to comment on the meeting saying he wasn’t involved in the matter.

The SGPC offices remained closed today and the attendance of devotees in the temple complex was thin. The Guru Nanak Niwas building was locked from the outside when The Indian Express visited the complex this evening.

Bhai Ranjit Singh, who received a large number of visitors at his residence throughout the day, asserted that the SGPC executive had no right to remove him from his office and that he would accept any decision taken at tomorrow’s meeting.

In the letter addressed to Badal, Bhai Ranjit Singh has stated that no jathedar or politician had the right to break or change the great Sikh traditions set by Sikh Gurus. He observed that “while any change can be possible with the approval of the Sarbat Khalsa or Sikh panth, but you are attacking the Akal Takht with statepower to protect your certain proteges standing trial before the Takht”.

Bhai Ranjit Singh wrote that he was never for a separate Sikh state of “Khalistan” and still not is. “I have never allowed Panthic stage to become a medium for raising separatist slogans. Though not agreeing with Khalistan, I strongly advocate a separate Sikh identity,” he added.

Questioning Badal’s morality, the Jathedar wrote: “To achieve political power, a morcha was launched from the Akal Takht. Even the `Dharam Youdh Morcha’ was launched from there. But where do the demands of the morcha stand today?”

He sought a clarification from Badal regarding his stand on Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas, the dispute over river waters and investment of Punjab’s money in other states. He accused Badal of bringing the State to the brink of bankruptcy and poverty. The honour of the Panth and Punjab had been ruined under Badal’s rule, he alleged.

“You have made Akali Dal a personal property of your yesmen. After climbing thestairs of power, the importance of religious institutions has become negligible in your eyes, so much so that you can also send police inside the Golden Temple complex to grab the Akal Takht and Harmandir Sahib”, Bhai Ranjit Singh said in the letter.

He minced no words in saying, “You have learned the art of using religious institutions to your advantage. When you are out of power, you raise a hue and cry over the danger to the Panth and the religion but after getting power, you try make religious bodies dance to your tunes. For you, everything is saleable because you are surrounded by an army of sycophants. You have forgotten the difference between sin and prayer.”

Later, Bhai Ranjit Singh told newspersons he was intimidated by the ruling party and was under the constant surveillance of security agencies.

Meanwhile, Badal held closed-door meetings with Giani Mohan Singh, head priest of the Golden Temple, and chairman of Akali Dal disciplinary committee Jagdev Singh Talwandi while pro-Tohra SGPCmembers warned the Badal Government against attempts to remove or arrest the Akal Takht Jathedar.

Sources claimed that Badal tried to persuade Giani Mohan Singh to accept the office of the Jathedar of the Akal Takht during two-hour meeting. However, it could not be ascertained whether Giani Mohan Singh accepted the offer.

Sources in the Akali Dal claimed that the meeting was significant since Talwandi and Giani Mohan Singh were related to each other. Earlier, Badal had succeeded in persuading Talwandi to issue a show-cause notice to SGPC president G S Tohra on December 17. No action has been taken on the notice so far.