Though the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, is embroiled in a raging row with the Congress in Haryana over the constitution of the Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC), its ally the BJP has not come out in wholehearted support.
Both in Punjab as well as Haryana the party has remained non-committal, even as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has called on the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh several times in the last one month to persuade Haryana to stop forming a separate panel to manage Sikh shrines in the State.
It was only when Mr. Badal threatened to resign and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, that the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a letter asking the Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia to withdraw the assent given by him to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Bill 2014, that bifurcated the Amritsar based SGPC into two separate units for Haryana and Punjab respectively. Predictably, Haryana dismissed the letter as an affront to the authority of the Governor and the State Legislature that passed the Bill. BJP sources say that one reason for the reluctance within the party to support the SAD in this fight for control of Sikh religious institutions is, because of impending Assembly elections in Haryana -- a State the BJP is eyeing to govern on its own. Alienating Haryana’s Sikhs is not in the party’s interest.
Lok Sabha electionsIn the Lok Sabha elections the SAD allied with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) led by Om Prakash Chautala and together the two parties opposed the BJP candidates. The BJP view, articulated by sources is that though the SAD is an ally in Punjab, but the party is not bound to stand by it in Haryana. “Besides, why should we support them on this issue when it is clear that they will continue to use Haryana’s gurdwaras as platforms of political mobilisation against us and in favour of the INLD in the Assembly elections?” said a BJP leader.
Meanwhile, BJP’s national spokesperson Capt. Abhimanyu Singh, widely projected as the party’s chief ministerial candidate from Haryana, told The Hindu : “As far as the aspirations of Haryana’s Sikhs are concerned, their concern regarding mishandling of contributions collected from the sangat in their gurdwaras appears to be understandable. But we as a party do not believe in interfering in the internal affairs of any community, religion or sect. It is up to the members of the Sikh community to resolve their disputes.”
A section of the Punjab BJP also feels that the SAD is in a weak moral position on this issue because its age old political tactic of raking up fears of ‘Sikh panth in danger’ among the Sikhs does not yield much political dividend. The lukewarm response of the Modi Government to Mr. Badal’s remonstrations is a setback for the SAD, which is why the party has declared its intention to go into agitation mode – a sure recipe for violent clashes and disturbance of law and order in the region. Already prominent voices in Punjab have expressed fears over escalation of religious tensions and its fallout.
