An inevitable change

THE REPLACEMENT OF criminally implicated Bibi Jagir Kaur as the chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee would have served the Sikh maryada better had it come the day the CBI named her the key accused in the case of suspected murder of her daughter, Harpreet, some six months ago. If she herself had little compunction about continuing in office despite her tainted image, the Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal supremo, Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, took no initiative to secure her resignation and, worse, came up with all kinds of specious arguments in her `defence'. In fact, if only Mr. Badal could have got his predilections to prevail over the perceived mood of many of his own colleagues in the higher echelons of the Akali Dal and also had his way with the members of the SGPC general house owing allegiance to him, Bibi Jagir Kaur would perhaps have been nominated for another term. On the face of it, the fact that the SAD's Political Affairs Committee and SGPC members (who constitute a majority in the general house) authorised Mr. Badal to make the nomination does suggest his getting an absolutely free hand in making the choice. Behind the mandate was however the unstated, yet clearly perceivable, understanding that Bibi Jagir Kaur, who had become a big liability to the party, would not be renominated. Given the strong anti-Kaur sentiments within the SAD leadership and the declared intention of the rival Gurcharan Singh Tohra camp to put up its own candidate in the event of her being renominated, there is no way Mr. Badal could have persisted with the morally unacceptable and politically inexpedient course of backing her for another term. On a different level, with the elections to the SGPC general house just a year away, the negative implications of mindlessly propping her up should have also weighed with him in deciding against her renomination.

With the inglorious exit of Bibi Jagir Kaur, the second of the two instruments Mr. Badal employed nearly two years ago, and with success, to marginalise his bete noire, Mr. Tohra, and emerge as an unchallenged Akali leader, both in the political and the religious domains, has proved a liability; earlier Giani Puran Singh, whom he got anointed as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, met with the ignominy of being dimissed by the SGPC executive. In fact, the unseemly and ego-centred wrangles the two proteges of Mr. Badal had indulged in marked a new low in the murky Akali politics, with the Chief Minister choosing to throw his weight behind the SGPC chief and ensure that she completed her tenure. It is interesting, even if somewhat intriguing, that he has now opted for a veteran Akali leader like Mr. Jagdev Singh Talwandi, one who was very much in contention on earlier occasions too when Bibi Jagir Kaur was handpicked by Mr. Badal for the position. There is however no question of doubting Mr. Talwandi's credentials; his experience and stature in the party surely place him far above the other aspirants to the high office. By all accounts, he was found acceptable to all Akali factions, including that of Mr. Tohra, and as such it is possible that Mr. Badal wanted to play it safe and avoid any confrontation.

If the record of Akali politics is anything to go by, it may not be long before the factional squabbles started coming into full play again. As Mr. Talwandi sets about undoing the perceived damage Bibi Jagir Kaur had inflicted on the institutional linkages and well established religious practices by her arbitrary and questionable actions, he is more than likely to run into trouble, with the clear prospect of his rubbing one faction or the other on the wrong side. In the immediate context, much will depend on what exactly were the calculations of Mr. Badal in putting Mr. Talwandi at the helm of the SGPC and whether he is willing to go along with his initiatives fully and without any reservation.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Next     : JD (United) splits again