The move to seek blessings by the Dera Sacha Sauda sect ahead 2017 Punjab polls is turning out to be a curse for the leaders of State’s major political parties — the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
No less than 44 Sikh leaders, hailing from the three political outfits, have been summoned to appear before the Akal Takht — Sikh’s highest temporal seat — on April 17 for seeking Dera’s support during elections violating 2007 hukumnama (edict) asking the community to “boycott” Sirsa-based sect, and excommunicating its controversial head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The summons were issued by five Sikh high priests on Tuesday on the basis of report submitted by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) committee.
Akal Takht Jathedar (head priest) Giani Gurbachan Singh asked the leaders to appear before the Akal Takht secretariat in Amritsar on April 17.
As per the available information, the report submitted by the SGPC panel, headed by its vice-president Baldev Singh Kayampur (Haryana) with Amarjit Singh Chawla and Gurbachan Singh as its members, has named around 44 leaders across political parties including prominent ones from the Congress and AkaliIJDal.
Set up on February 6, the SGPC panel had taken feedback from all 117 constituencies of the State before finalizing the report.
Sources informed The Pioneer that the panel has listed the name of former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, sitting MlAs Raja Amarinder Singh Warring, Randeep Singh Nabha, Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, among other Congress leaders.
The names of former MlAs Karan Kaur Brar, Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, Kewal Singh Dhillon, is also said to be in the list.
From Akali Dal, former Ministers Sikander Singh Maluka, Janmeja Sekhon, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, and Surjit Singh Rakhra is in the list. Other Akali leaders including Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, Harpreet Singh Kotbhai, Hardeep Singh Dhillon, Dilraj Singh Bhunder, Varinder Kaur, Prakash Singh Bhatti, Kanwaljit Rozy Barkandi, Gurpreet Singh Raju, Nishan Singh Budhlada, and Mantar Singh Brar were also issued summons, besides several other leaders from the party.
Summon was also issued to AAP’s candidate from Firozpur City assembly segment Narendra Singh Sandha.
IJThe report listed out the names of 29 Sikh leaders who visited the Dera and 15 Akali leaders who participated in the workers’ meetings of the sect, held outside the Dera.
The names of 29 Sikh leaders visiting Dera headquarters, includes 14 each from Akali Dal and the Congress and one from AAP.
Those who attended the meeting outside Dera includes the names of Darbara Singh Guru, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Didar Singh Bhatti, Surinder Singh Sibia, Ajit Singh Shaant, Gulzar Singh, Darshan Singh Kotfatta, among others.
Dera Sacha Sauda, headed by controversial self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim, had openly supported SAD and a few party candidates also openly announced that they would support the Dera in holding religious congregations in the state.
The issue of “support” snowballed into a massive storm considering Akal Takht’s 2007 edict to ban the Sikh community from keeping social, religious or financial relationships with the Dera and its followers.
The edict was passed after the Dera’s head imitated Sikhs’ tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh, during a religious congregation at Bathinda in 2007.
Akal Takht jathedar had made it clear that the 2007 ‘hukumnama’ against Dera chief was intact, while ruling out the resumption of the sect’s
‘satsang’ as promised by Akali leaders.