Support cause of Bargari morcha, linking it with ISI unfair: Sekhwan
VOICE OF DISSENT Says future move depends on feedback from the community; Akali Dal’s shunning the Panthic agenda has affected the reputation of the Akal Takht as well as the SGPC
AMRITSAR : A day after he, along with senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders Ranjit Singh Brahmpur and Rattan Singh Ajnala, apologised for their ‘past mistakes’ at the Golden Temple, former cabinet minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan on Wednesday said they support the cause of Bargari morcha.
The morcha is seeking action against the culprits of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and killing of two Sikh protesters in the Behbal Kalan police firing.
The statement assumes significance in the wake of reports that the estranged Majha Akali leaders may find a common cause with the Bargari morcha.
Unlike former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who are alleging that ISI and anti-national forces were trying to vitiate peace in Punjab through the Bargari protest, Sekhwan, Brahmpura and Ajnala have now made it public the soft corner they have for the sit-in.
The trio has taken a defiant position against the party leadership lately.
“As per my knowledge, the Bargari Morcha is fighting for three issues — punishment to culprits of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, action against the cops involved in Behbal Kalan firing and release of Sikh prisoners who have completed their jail terms. These are very genuine demands. Indeed, the Sikhs need justice on these issues and I lend support to it,” Sekhwan said.
Replying to a query on their plan to join the protest at Bargari, Sekhwan, who is also a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), said “we have no such plan as of now, but don’t have any differences with the organisers of the morcha”.
“Such panthic issues are not being raised by the party (SAD) which is known as the representative of Sikhs. SAD leadership’s move to ignore these issues has united us,” he pointed out.
He said party’s abandoning the Panthic agenda is the root cause of degradation of the Sikh institutions — Akal Takht and the SGPC.
On the allegation of Pakistan’s spy agency lending support to Bargari Morcha, Sekhwan said, “Without any proof, how can anybody call it a conspiracy of the ISI. Nobody has the right to say this without proof…I feel, this is not fair.”
“Actually, we have raised our points before the community and now we are getting their feedback and suggestions. We will chalk out the future course of action on the basis of the feedback,” he said.
“The option of joining the Bargari protest depends on the feedback,” he added.
He declined to comment on the protest against Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia at a religious function in Gurdaspur district recently.
Notably, senior vice-president of SAD and SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh has already extended support to Bargari protest by attending a function on October 14 to commemorate those killed in Behbal Kalan police firing in 2015.