Is Dhindsa Congress agent, part of some deeper design or rebel?

                                      

Is Dhindsa Congress agent, part of some deeper design or rebel?

The issue of Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa forming a new Akali Dal being part of some broader design has arisen precisely because of the usual allegation of his being propped up by the Congress that has been leveled by the party of which he had been a member all his life-the Shiromani Akali Dal.

This is not for the first time that a senior Akali leader has formed a new party since Sukhbir Singh Badal took over as the president of the formation that for decades articulated the Panthic issues. That character got completely eroded after the sacrilege related religio-political dynamics beginning with Bargari.

Even on the farmers’ related issues, Sukhbir has taken the stand that is diametrically opposite to the general perception in Punjab. He himself said recently in Jalalabad that all the farmers’ bodies were standing with Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh with the main opposition on paper the Aam Aadmi Party being his puppet.

The first senior leader to be attacked with the allegation of being the Congress agent was Akali Dal stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra  when questioned the functioning of then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his dynastic interests in late 1998. He was the leader who used to symbolise the Panthic articulations and he remained committed to those ideals all through his life.

Every party leader who has departed from Badals has been attacked with the similar weapon.

Dhindsa for years was one of the two staunchest loyalists of Parkash Singh Badal, the other being Balwinder Singh Bhunder. He did not desert his leader even during the adverse situation during militancy when this party was completely pushed to the margins in 1989. Both Dhindsa and Bhunder used to be accommodated in the Rajya after having been rejected by the people in their respective constituencies. The latest desertion is thus by one of the two staunchest Badal loyalists and not any ordinary leader.

 In this contest, former Ludhiana Akali leader Jagdish Singh Garcha joining the Dhindsa party is significant. For years, Badal used to stay at Garcha’s residence while in Ludhiana. He was party’s financier too.

Dhindsa’s provocation could be Badal family’s choice of Harsimrat Kaur to represent the Akali Dal in the Modi cabinet. The senior most persons in the pecking order were Dhindsa followed by Prem Singh Chandumajra. He had proposed after the humiliating defeat in the 2017 Assembly elections that Sukhbir as party chief should own the moral responsibility and quit.

Dhindsa’s son Parminder Singh, of course, was inducted as the finance minister in the Badal government.

The first indication of the under current was available when the Modi government decided to fete him with Padma Bhushan without consulting Badals. The die was cast. The allegation of his being Congress agent has to be seen in this background. He was honoured by the BJP government.

The BJP looking for alternative to Badals in Punjab has been part of discussion in political circles in the state for months now. However, it cannot be said that the emergence of the new Akali Dal is part of that design. It is wrong to assess every such formation in the criteria of being somebody’s agent. However, the facts must be put straight.

More important, however, is the likely impact of the new formation in triggering new permutations and combinations. One indication is the wide coverage to the Ludhiana meet by a Punjabi paper that for decades supported Parkash Singh Badal.

A low profile campaign is going on for several months at the gurdwara level in Punjab by the leaders who are not directly into politics. Their limited but important objective is democratisation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that is in the grip of Badals. It is a different issue that this body has been with the Akali Dal all along. Tohra presided over this body for more than a quarter of a century but none dared interfere in its functioning. It may be mentioned that this body has been playing all important role in the religious-political arena, not just the management of gurdwaras.

One of these leaders is Bhai Ranjit Singh, the former Jathedar of Akal Takht who was unceremoniously sacked on Badal’s signal in 1999. This supreme religio-political institution went under Badal’s control with the sack of Bhai Ranjit Singh. That status quo continues. Similar campaign has been on by others in the religious domain. Dhinda and Bhai Ranjit Singh maintain good relations.

It may be recalled that the Akali Dal lost the 2002 Assembly elections precisely because of Tohra.

The first test could be the elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee next year. This election has normally been held as per the schedule.

The one important new factor that has emerged on the scene is Covid. It is to be seen as to how this crisis impacts the political discourse and it can’t be assessed presently.