Other States - Punjab   

Akalis playing with sentiments of people, alleges Congress

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab unit of the Congress on Sunday accused the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of forgetting all their demands once they assumed or shared power with their alliance partners like NDA at the Centre. It has appealed to Akali leadership that it was time that they stopped playing with the sentiments of the people.

The chief spokesman of the State unit of the Congress, Bir Devinder Singh, through a statement issued here has reacted strongly to the stance adopted by the Akali Dal president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has been quoted as demanding law regulating all Gurdwaras in the country.

Though it was not a new demand raised by them, Mr. Singh sought to remind that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had in 1985 sent the draft of the Bill to be tabled in the Parliament for enactment of the All India Gurdwara Act, to the Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). While the Home Ministry sent the draft twice for their comments, neither the Akali Dal nor SGPC returned the communication till date. “Now after almost a quarter century, suddenly they woke up out of deep slumber and shot up another demand,” he quipped.

Mr Singh said that the people had a right to know from Mr. Sukhbir Singh and Akali Dal’s secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa whether they had ever taken up the issue on the constitutional forums available to them as Ministers in the NDA Government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He demanded a clarification about the response of the NDA, particularly the BJP, which was now meddling in the religious affair of the Sikhs.

Demanding an explanation from Mr. Sukhbir Singh and Mr. Dhindsa if they ever raised the issue in Parliament during the NDA regime, the Congress spokesman asked, “Why now suddenly they felt the need to raise the demand for All India Gurdwara legislation?”

Mr Singh went to challenge that if they were serious about the issue, let the Akali MPs introduce a private members Bill in the ensuing session of the Parliament for a relevant legislation, for regulating the Management and control of the Gurdwaras across the country.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Akalis playing with sentiments of people, alleges Congress

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu