Akali Dal in Delhi continues to get hit by hang over of break up of alliance with the BJP

 

BJP’s shadow over Delhi Sikh gurdwara panel continues to darken hitting the Akali Dal

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

On the surface of it, the resignation of recently elected Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management  Committee chief Harmeet Singh Kalka from the presidency of the Delhi state Shiromani Akali Dal might not seem to be important.

He has ostensibly resigned to serve the Delhi Sangat while rising above politics. Nothing wrong with it on the surface. He has stated in his resignation letter, “In the DSGMC election, the SAD Delhi unit got a lot of support from the sangat and has entrusted  the responsibility of being the DSGMC president to me. Now, it is my responsibility that I should serve rising above party politics after taking all members along. So, I am resigning from the post of the president so that I can serve the sangat of Delhi while remaining fair.”

He has also cited the new parameters set by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal that DSGMC president should not continue as the party president.

There seems to be nothing wrong on the surface.

However, it is the timing and the deeper motive that is questionable as the Shiromani Akali Dal is engaged in a pitched battle that is the Assembly election scheduled for February 20.

This is the first election since 1997 that both the Akali Dal and the BJP are  contesting separately after this one of the oldest alliances broke under pressure from the farmers’ struggle.

And Harmeet’s wife  happens to be municipal councillor from the BJP. The MC poll in Delhi is due within a few weeks.

Harmeet got elected as president of DSGMC with active support from his predecessor Manjinder Singh Sirsa who had earlier joined the BJP giving a big jolt to Sukhbir. He was known as protégé of Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Elected as president of the second most powerful elected statutory body of the Sikhs after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee a little more than a week back, he could have waited till February 20.

But then BJP is going ahead full throttle in Punjab despite the fact that it is not in a winning position or getting even respectable number of seats but can tilt the scales.

Harmeet Singh Kalka resigning as the party president in Delhi sends out a wrong signal at this moment.

The problem with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Delhi is that the party had completely identified itself with the BJP over the years.

While Harmeet has resigned as the Akali Dal president, Sirsa was also the BJP MLA while being the president of the DSGMC that in itself was a major contradiction.

RSS over the years has been viewed with suspicion for intervening discreetly in Sikh affairs and treating Sikhs as part of the broader Hindu family. Moreover, the chiefs of Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh seat for prayer and politics, have been cautioning against the activities of the RSS from time to time but still, Sirsa was allowed to continue as the Delhi gurdwara panel chief. He finally decided to jump over to the BJP after functioning virtually as its voice.

The resignation by Harmeet from the Akali Dal presidency has to be seen in this framework.

This weakening of the Sikh institutions has started boomeranging on the Akali Dal itself. The president of the SGPC for years used to be among the most powerful Akali leaders, not any more. After the demise of Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the presidents of this most power elected body of the Sikhs have by and large been political non-entities. The Akali Dal too has been shrinking over the years.

In Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal, as part of the move to win over even a few more Hindu votes, has joined hands even with some Rightist Hindu bodies like a  Shiv Sena faction provoking strong reaction among the Sikh bodies.

These Shiv Senas have been coming into confrontation from time to time with the hard-line Sikh organisations over displaying the posters of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale whose memorial is in the Golden Temple (Darbar Sahib) complex.

The intensity of the election in Punjab is reflected by decision of Akali Dal strongman Bikram Singh Majitha to contest only from Amritsar East to engage state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu. He today announced with withdraw his nomination from his traditional Majitha seat to fully concentrate on Amritsar East. His wife Ganieve would now contest from Majitha.