DHARAMKOTE (MOGA), December 21: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today hoped that yesterday’s High Court verdict restoring the voting rights of the Sehajdhari Sikhs for the SGPC elections should open up the eyes of Akalis that they should stop practicing sectarian politics of dividing people for their own narrow ends. He said, earlier they divided Punjab purely for the sectarian reasons to get power and now they tried to divide the Sikh community itself.
Addressing a huge public rally organised by the local SGPC Member Sukhjit Singh ‘Kaka’ Lohgarh, who recently joined the Congress, here today, Capt Amarinder said, earlier through Punjabi suba movement they divided Punjab and turned out Hindus so that they could form a government here. “Now they tried to exclude more than half of the Sikh population to ensure that they retained control over the SGPC”, he said, while pointing out, Akalis don’t mind resorting to divisive politics even if it meant dividing their own religion as long as it suits their vested interests.
The former Chief Minister said, it was so unfortunate on part of Mr Parkash Singh Badal to make the government of India intervene into the Sikh religion by getting a notification issued barring Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC elections in 2003. “As a self proclaimed guardian of the panth he (Mr Badal) should have resisted the government interference into the Sikh religion, but Badal got it done at his own behest for his own vested interests to retain control over the SGPC”, he observed.
The former Chief Minister said, the Akalis had never cared about Punjab and had only exploited the sentiments of people and in the process got thousands of young men killed. He pointed out, they were best at setting up morchas and then retiring to the safe havens of the government guest houses by stage managing their arrests while people would get killed outside. He said, if they had the will to do they could do it using constitutional means like he did when he as the Chief Minister repealed all the Water Sharing Treaties with other states to save waters of Punjab.
Ridiculing Mr Badal for seeking another five years, Capt Amarinder said, it was high time that he retired from politics. “He is already too old to even stand up of his own and needs support left and right for moving around and still he is asking for five more years”, he remarked while asking, “how can anybody trust you with Punjab for five years more when you can’t even stand up of your own?”
The PCC President lashed out at the Badals for their five years of misrule which only included loot and robbery besides victimization of the political opponents. He also referred to the reign of terror let lose by the Akalis during the panchayat, municipal and recently the SGPC elections when they did not let the opponents either to contest or to win. He congratulated Kaka Lohgarh for winning against all odds and defeating the Akalis with huge margin in the SGPC elections.
Welcoming Kaka Lohgarh into along with over twenty-five thousand supporters who had come to attend today’s rally, the PCC President said, the party will get further strengthened in the area. He thanked Kaka Lohgarh for reposing faith in the Congress.
Speaking on the occasion, Kaka Lohgarh said, he and his family had a long association of about five decades with the Akali Dal. “However, at the end of the day Mr Badal let me down”, he said, adding he had no other option but to contest independently in the SGPC elections. He thanked his supporters for reposing faith in him and standing by him not only during the SGPC elections but also in his decision to join the Congress.
Punjab Mahilla Congress president Dr Malti Thapar, DCC Moga president Ms Jagdarshan Kaur, MLAs Joginder Pal Jain, Darshan Singh Brar, Naresh Kataria, Kushaldeep ‘Kikki’ Dhillon, Joginder Punjgraian and Inderjeet Zira also spoke on the occasion.
