Religion is interfering with politics in Punjab. While the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is going back on its panthic agenda, the decision is casting a shadow over its age-old political ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Known for exploiting the religious sentiments, the Akali Dal is making every possible effort to recoup from its failures and controversies it had faced in the recent past including the Moga bus molestation case, drug issue, among others, by adopting the panthic agenda and raising Sikh related issues.
The saffron party, on the other hand, has till now maintained a strategic silence on the issue, while, at the same time, preparing its own ground in the State, in case it wanted to go solo for the next State Assembly polls in 2017.
The party broke its silence only recently when the SAD-led Punjab Government, “without consulting the BJP”, transferred Khalistani militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar to Punjab’s Amritsar Central Jail from Delhi’s Tihar Jail. It even led to cancellation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Punjab visit, embarrassing the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Even as Badal, also the SAD patron, had maintained that Bhullar’s transfer to Punjab posed no danger to the State’s peace and communal harmony, the BJP, besides the Congress, has all along been maintaining that it can disturb law and order in the State.
Sources revealed that after the SAD was embroiled in a series of controversies, with Moga case acting as the last nail in the coffin, its senior leadership stressed on once again re-inventing the party as a guardian of Sikhism, and its rights.
The first move in that direction was the ongoing Dharmik Darshan Didar Yatra, in collaboration with the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) — a journey across the state bringing Sikh masters’ relics from Patiala to Sri Anandpur Sahib.
Even as the Akali Dal or the state government is describing the journey as a “humble tribute to the great Gurus”, its political opponents have termed it as “a trump card” for political gains. It was followed by the decision of celebrating the 350th anniversary of the holy town of Sri Anandpur Sahib on June 19.
In between, the Badals kept on raising several Sikh-related issues with the Centre. Chief Minister raised only panthic issues at the Northern Zonal Council, while ignoring the loads of problems afflicting the state.
Badal, in his latest meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 29, preferred to discuss Sikh specific issues related to the nomination of chief of Nanded Sikh Gurudwara Sachkhand Hazoor Abchalnagar Sahib Board.
The latest is the Bhullar’s transfer to Punjab, which has, seemingly, led to the cancellation of Modi’s proposed visit to the state to attend June 19 function at Anandpur Sahib.
“BJP leader, including the MlAs, Ministers and the district chiefs, have been maintaining a distance and staying away from the preparations for Anandpur Sahib event. Only the state Cabinet Minister Madan Mohan Mittal, who is a local legislator, is participating as it is his constituency and he has to be there,” a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, told The Pioneer.
“Neither our state party chief Kamal Sharma, nor any of our district party president attended the meeting Chief Minister has called for Anandpur Sahib function. District head were invited through Deputy Commissioners, and as they don’t have the instructions from the party, they stayed away,” said the leader.
In fact, the BJP leaders also stayed away from the Dharmik Darshan Yatra, while it was being received by SAD’s who’s who, including the cabinet ministers, and senior leaders in every district.
Another BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, was of the view that the SAD was apprehensive over loosing its ground in the state as the party and many of its leaders are in the controversy, and thus adopted its wining strategy. With the BJP emerging strong in the state, and considering the option of contesting 2017 polls alone, the SAD has went back on panthic agenda.
“Chief Minister, and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal have been approaching the Centre on its own…they don’t bring along any BJP minister or leader which sends a wrong signal, and thus gets nothing from the Centre. Moreover, they have been ignoring BJP in many significant decisions, on which the high command had asked the SAD to abide the coalition dharma,” said the BJP leader.
In fact, the former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh had also accused Badal of “raking up panthic issues for personal vested interests”, and “to conceal his own failures as he had realized ground slipping beneath his feet”.