Congress-led Punjab Government and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday locked in a face-off over the issue of the latter holding a rally at Faridkot.
As the Government denied SAD the permission to hold its scheduled ‘pol-khol’ rally at Faridkot on Sunday citing intelligence inputs regarding possible threat to law and order, the party took the matter to the corridors of justice.
The party has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking the setting aside the government order, dated September 14, refusing permission for the rally, besides asking for directions to the State and other respondents to allow them to hold their “peaceful political rally”.
The High Court’s Single Bench of Justice RK Jain would now take up the matter on Saturday, in a special hearing.
Peeved over the development, the Badals — former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Badal — dubbed the move as “broad daylight murder of democracy”.
SAD went on to demand dismissal of the Congress government for failing to control law and order in the state, while accusing the government of having “surrendered to the radical elements and imposing second emergency in the state”.
The denial to permission for holding the rally at Faridkot came hours before Sukhbir’s scheduled visit to the venue to review the preparation of its much-talked-about event on Sunday. The decision was conveyed by the District Administration.
Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raj Bachan Singh Sandhu cited law and order situation as the reason for denial of permission to the rally. The intelligence inputs indicated that SAD’s rally could become a flashpoint between the radicals — already staging a dharna there, and the Akali workers — attending the proposed rally.
A senior government official told The Pioneer that the decision was taken in view of the ongoing dharna at Bargari near Faridkot by the Sikh or panthic organisations demanding action in the sacrilege incidents.
“It has been observed that in the past few days, the number of their supporters has been increasing, especially after the SAD’s announcement to hold the rally. This was the main issue of our concern and just to avert any kind of problem, we have decided to reject the permission for the rally,” said the official.
Notably, in the recent past, altercations between the SAD supporters and the Sikh leaders and their supporters have been reported — besides series of protests by the Sikh leaders — outside SAD’s pre-rally meeting past week, outside SAD’s rally venue at Abohar, among other incidents.
“People known that SAD, especially the Badals, are behind the series of sacrilege incidents and also for ordering the firing on the peaceful protestors. They have to answer the people of the state, and the government would soon be punishing them,” said a senior Congress leader.
Earlier also, the SAD was forced to shift the venue and even postpone the rally, which it had scheduled to hold on September 15 at Kotkapura. The venue was changed after the intelligence agencies opposed the rally citing threat to law and order.
It has also been learnt that the police had earlier issued the no-objection-certificate (NoC) to SAD for holding the rally, but it was recalled by Faridkot District Administration on Friday.
Informing, SAD spokesperson Parambans Singh Romana said that the “government has allowed anti-nationals to protest in Bargari for the last three months, but denied permission to Shiromani Akali Dal. This is totally undemocratic”.
It may be mentioned that the Faridkot was among the most affected districts from the sacrilege cases as the first few incidents, and also the firing incident, took place here and in the surrounding areas. The first sacrilege incidents were reported in Bargari, followed by Behbal Kalan firing in October 2015, which had triggered the state-wide protests.
Cornered over the issue of sacrilege from all sections, the SAD had planned a series of ‘pol-khol’ rallies against the Congress government. Through its Faridkot rally, the party had planned to launch an attack against the ruling Congress for misguiding the people of the state by way of “concocted” report by Justice Ranjit Singh Commission.
For the rally, SAD patriarch and five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had decided to come out from hibernation to save the party, whose image has suffered a severe hit over the issue, especially after the tabling of Commission’s report in the Vidhan Sabha.
Justice Ranjit Singh panel report had named the senior Badal, with the Congress insisting that he was the one who ordered use of force and firing on the peaceful protestors, protesting against the incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, at Kotkapura in October 2015.