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Sants came marching in,
Badal rushed to deflate
WSN Bureau
 Fatehgarh Sahib/Mohali: Of the several Machiavellian ways available
to a politician to torpedo a move that could inspire a community to
stress its aspirations and forge a feeling of identity, Punjab Chief
Minister and Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal chose the
option of direct intervention. Few can deflate a movement in Sikh
ranks with the dexterity of a Badal. As the Sikh leaders associated
with the Sant Samaj came marching from Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib to
Chandigarh to court arrest, their protest aimed at forcing the
government to arrest Dera Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the group
was stopped in Mohali where Badal himself landed, asking the Sants
not to adopt the strategy of dharnas and arrests. "Such protests
suit politicians, not the Sants," Badal said.
He
said the provocation created by Dera head was indeed grave, but he
just couldn't go ahead and arrest Gurmit Ram Rahim since he was
bound by the Oath of Constitution and will allow the law to take its
own course. Badal did not say which Article of the Constitution
allows someone to insult and imitate the Sikh Gurus.
The
CM's media adviser Harcharan Singh Bains was with Badal as he
engaged the Sants for about 45 minutes in Mohali's Phase VIII on
Mohali-Sirhind road. As the Sant Samaj leadership seemed intent on
courting arrest, Badal refused to budge saying he just can't allow
any detention or arrest of the Sants. Minutes after he left, a
message from the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti
arrived through SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar asking all leaders
to formulate any protest programs only after clearance from the
temporal authority. This was enough to convince the Sant Samaj to
call off Tuesday's protest.
Damdami Taksal leader Harnam Singh Dhumma, who often suffixes 'Khalsa'
or 'Bhindranwale' with his name depending upon the occasion, seemed
to more ready than others to concede, which also brought out the
fact that the Sant Samaj also had internal differences on the
matter.
The
exercise was in many ways a repeat of the earlier march from
Fatehgarh Sahib which was to reach Chandigarh, but then diverted to
nearby Gurdwara Jyoti Saroop where ADCs of Punjab and Haryana
governors had reached to receive the memorandums. The move had taken
the sting out of the protest and made life easier for Badal.
Earlier, the sants held a meeting at Dewan Todar Mal hall on the
gurdwara premises during which prominent Sikh leaders criticized
chief of the dera Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Of
course, the continued pressure tactics is also yielding some
dividends. On June 19, the Badal government moved to up the pressure
with the Bathinda police seeking from a local court arrest warrants
against Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the criminal case registered against
him at the city police station here on May 20.
The
move now makes the entry of Gurmeet Ram Rahim into Bathinda
difficult and strategists of the government say it was to stall a
satsang in the dera branch at Salabatpura village in July where
Gurmeet Ram was to participate.
Police said the formal application was moved regarding the criminal
case registered under Section 295-A of the IPC on the complaint of
Rajinder Singh Sidhu, president, local Khalsa Diwan.
Badal's claims of so much respect for the Sants notwithstanding, the
panthic government had ordered tough measures by the police.
Elaborate security arrangements were made and cops from other
districts were also called in to ensure law and order. Tear-gas guns
and anti-rioting squads were on hand and policemen deflated tyres of
vehicles parked along the Fatehgarh-Mohali road. Movements of
perceived radicals, like Bhai Daljit Singh of Akali Dal (Amritsar)
and Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwar Pal Singh, were video
graphed by the police during their stay in the district and the
convoy of over 150 vehicles was escorted by the police up to the
district border.
Dhumma did not forget to add that soon the next line of action will
be decided, a clear indication that the Sant Samaj would like to
keep the leadership role on the issue. As for Bhai Daljit Singh, his
movements were a more closely followed exercise since a case of
sedition is pending against him and he was expected to join
investigations. To know what happened to him that day, please turn
over to page XX.
20 June, 2007
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