WSN-Punjab News-Ashutosh Imbroglio
Ashutosh Imbroglio
Panth sets deadline for Badal to act, or face Sikh wrath
WSN Bureau
CHOWK MEHTA/AMRITSAR: Anger and rage among the Sikh Nation showed no
signs of abating, and spurred by the apathy of the ruling Akali
Dal-BJP alliance, a number of panthic organisations served an
ultimatum upon the Badal Government to take action against BJP
leader, MLA Harish Bedi, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner who had ordered
the unprovoked firing on a protesting Sikh crowd and the district
police chief who was more keen to facilitate the Ashutosh function
than about maintaining peace.
As the panthic forums led by Damdami Taksal set December 29 as the
deadline for action by the state government, a few other
organisations gave a call for boycott of Prakash Singh Badal for
utterly failing to protect panthic interests and instead helping
troublemakers like Ashutosh.
Demands also rang out to summon Prakash Singh Badal to Akal Takht for
allowing Ashutosh's Divya Jyoti Jagrity Sansthan to hold a conclave
in Ludhiana despite clear knowledge tat it will hurt the Sikh sentiments.
Former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode announced that Sikh
organisations will also be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
seek his intervention in checking dera culture in Punjab and compared
the recent violence with the ****** Vaisakhi of 1978 when Nirankaris
had killed 13 Sikhs.
Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma's ultimatum came on
Saturday. He said if the government fails to do the needful, it
should be prepared for an intensive and long dranw struggle by the
Sikhs as the Damdami Taksal, Sant Samaj, Dal Khalsa, Shiromani Sikh
Council and Sikh Students Federation will then join hands to hold a
protest march from Fatehgarh Sahib to Chandigarh.
Akal Takht jathedar Giania Gurbachan Singh lost little time in
declaring that Badal will not be summoned at the Akal Takht even as
panthic bodies decided to file another petition before the Akal Takht
for summoning Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC)
president Paramjit Singh Sarna for "playing into the hands" of the
Congress by creating "unnecessary" Panthic controversies, including
that of the Dasam Granth.
About 300 representatives of the Panthic bodies had met to chalk out
a strategy after the Ludhiana incident, where a Sikh participant,
Darshan Singh Lohara, in a protest march against the DJJS Satsang was
killed in police firing. Dhumma minced no words in drawing a parallel
with the 1978 episode and said that in granting permission for the
Satsang, Badal had tried to repeat what he did in the same capacity
as CM by allowing a Nirankari march in Amritsar in 1978.
The SGPC leadership also came in for flak for failing in its
fundamental duty of preaching the Sikh religion due to which the Dera
cult was growing by leaps and bounds. The undoing of the SGPC is
costing Sikhs dear, as they have to shed blood for stopping anti-Sikh
propaganda by certain self-styled godmen, panthic leaders said.
Former Akal Takht Jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode, Khalsa Action Committee
convener Mohkam Singh, Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh
and Sant Samaj member Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale were prominent among
those present at the meeting that witnessed participation by some 27
Sikh organizations at Chowk Mehta, the headquarters of Damdami Taksal.
The unanimous statement passed at the meeting said, "Badal has failed
to protect the rights of the Sikhs and is liable to be summoned at the Takht."
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh Khalsa said it was well known
that the ruling Akalis were under the pressure of BJP to allow
Ashutosh's congregation.
Meanwhile, at a meeting at Ludhiana's Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib, some
Sikh bodies urged the community to boycott Parkash Singh Badal
holding him responsible for the December 5 clashes. R P Singh,
spokesperson of the Akhand Keertani Jatha, said it was unanimously
decided that Badal is responsible for the violence.
The bodies also demanded martyr status for Darshan Singh, an
auto-rickshaw driver, who had died of police firing in the Ludhiana
violence. They demanded a CBI probe into the firing and an FIR
against BJP's Harish Bedi, his son Honey Bedi and police officers
responsible for the firing.
"Sikh institutions like the Akal Takht and SGPC are being ruled by
corrupt politicians and we will launch a movement to purge these
institutions. We have also called in support of the Sikh diaspora who
have expressed their solidarity with us to sustain this movement at
the international level," RP Singh added.
The bodies that participated in the meet included Tat Khalsa, Akhand
Keertani Jatha, Dal Khalsa and Delhi Gurdwara Management Commitee and others.
Trigger happy police gets clean chit from CM:
Disregarding the widespread anger among the Sikhs, CM Prakash Singh
Badal has given a clean chit to the police in Ludhiana violence case,
thus rendering a probe by ADG Kuldeep Singh as ere eyewash. The probe
was to fix responsibility for the violence when Sikhs protested
against Ashutosh's gathering. meanwhile, the SAD-BJP government has
gone all mum on the clashes between migrants and the police on
December 3 and 4.
Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg and ADGP KUldip Singh were hard put to
defend their status after the CM's clean chit. Sikhs' anger is
palpable because the police hardly waited for anything to happen and
was too trigger happy when it fired.
A police officer said if the panthic protestors had been allowed to
move another 500 metre forward there would have been a major law and
order situationand a clash between Ashutosh followers and Sikhs would
have been imminent.
More...
Ashutosh Imbroglio
Panth sets deadline for Badal to act, or face Sikh wrath
WSN Bureau
CHOWK MEHTA/AMRITSAR: Anger and rage among the Sikh Nation showed no
signs of abating, and spurred by the apathy of the ruling Akali
Dal-BJP alliance, a number of panthic organisations served an
ultimatum upon the Badal Government to take action against BJP
leader, MLA Harish Bedi, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner who had ordered
the unprovoked firing on a protesting Sikh crowd and the district
police chief who was more keen to facilitate the Ashutosh function
than about maintaining peace.
As the panthic forums led by Damdami Taksal set December 29 as the
deadline for action by the state government, a few other
organisations gave a call for boycott of Prakash Singh Badal for
utterly failing to protect panthic interests and instead helping
troublemakers like Ashutosh.
Demands also rang out to summon Prakash Singh Badal to Akal Takht for
allowing Ashutosh's Divya Jyoti Jagrity Sansthan to hold a conclave
in Ludhiana despite clear knowledge tat it will hurt the Sikh sentiments.
Former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode announced that Sikh
organisations will also be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
seek his intervention in checking dera culture in Punjab and compared
the recent violence with the ****** Vaisakhi of 1978 when Nirankaris
had killed 13 Sikhs.
Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma's ultimatum came on
Saturday. He said if the government fails to do the needful, it
should be prepared for an intensive and long dranw struggle by the
Sikhs as the Damdami Taksal, Sant Samaj, Dal Khalsa, Shiromani Sikh
Council and Sikh Students Federation will then join hands to hold a
protest march from Fatehgarh Sahib to Chandigarh.
Akal Takht jathedar Giania Gurbachan Singh lost little time in
declaring that Badal will not be summoned at the Akal Takht even as
panthic bodies decided to file another petition before the Akal Takht
for summoning Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC)
president Paramjit Singh Sarna for "playing into the hands" of the
Congress by creating "unnecessary" Panthic controversies, including
that of the Dasam Granth.
About 300 representatives of the Panthic bodies had met to chalk out
a strategy after the Ludhiana incident, where a Sikh participant,
Darshan Singh Lohara, in a protest march against the DJJS Satsang was
killed in police firing. Dhumma minced no words in drawing a parallel
with the 1978 episode and said that in granting permission for the
Satsang, Badal had tried to repeat what he did in the same capacity
as CM by allowing a Nirankari march in Amritsar in 1978.
The SGPC leadership also came in for flak for failing in its
fundamental duty of preaching the Sikh religion due to which the Dera
cult was growing by leaps and bounds. The undoing of the SGPC is
costing Sikhs dear, as they have to shed blood for stopping anti-Sikh
propaganda by certain self-styled godmen, panthic leaders said.
Former Akal Takht Jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode, Khalsa Action Committee
convener Mohkam Singh, Dal Khalsa general secretary Kanwarpal Singh
and Sant Samaj member Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale were prominent among
those present at the meeting that witnessed participation by some 27
Sikh organizations at Chowk Mehta, the headquarters of Damdami Taksal.
The unanimous statement passed at the meeting said, "Badal has failed
to protect the rights of the Sikhs and is liable to be summoned at the Takht."
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh Khalsa said it was well known
that the ruling Akalis were under the pressure of BJP to allow
Ashutosh's congregation.
Meanwhile, at a meeting at Ludhiana's Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib, some
Sikh bodies urged the community to boycott Parkash Singh Badal
holding him responsible for the December 5 clashes. R P Singh,
spokesperson of the Akhand Keertani Jatha, said it was unanimously
decided that Badal is responsible for the violence.
The bodies also demanded martyr status for Darshan Singh, an
auto-rickshaw driver, who had died of police firing in the Ludhiana
violence. They demanded a CBI probe into the firing and an FIR
against BJP's Harish Bedi, his son Honey Bedi and police officers
responsible for the firing.
"Sikh institutions like the Akal Takht and SGPC are being ruled by
corrupt politicians and we will launch a movement to purge these
institutions. We have also called in support of the Sikh diaspora who
have expressed their solidarity with us to sustain this movement at
the international level," RP Singh added.
The bodies that participated in the meet included Tat Khalsa, Akhand
Keertani Jatha, Dal Khalsa and Delhi Gurdwara Management Commitee and others.
Trigger happy police gets clean chit from CM:
Disregarding the widespread anger among the Sikhs, CM Prakash Singh
Badal has given a clean chit to the police in Ludhiana violence case,
thus rendering a probe by ADG Kuldeep Singh as ere eyewash. The probe
was to fix responsibility for the violence when Sikhs protested
against Ashutosh's gathering. meanwhile, the SAD-BJP government has
gone all mum on the clashes between migrants and the police on
December 3 and 4.
Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg and ADGP KUldip Singh were hard put to
defend their status after the CM's clean chit. Sikhs' anger is
palpable because the police hardly waited for anything to happen and
was too trigger happy when it fired.
A police officer said if the panthic protestors had been allowed to
move another 500 metre forward there would have been a major law and
order situationand a clash between Ashutosh followers and Sikhs would
have been imminent.
More...