Amritsar, October 26
With a view to defusing the prevailing Panthic crisis, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister and president of the SAD, held an in-camera meeting with Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, SGPC chief, who was conspicuous by his absence from all functions addressed by the former.

Even as Mr Badal attributed the differences between him and Mr Talwandi as the “creation of media”, Mr Talwandi did not attend the meeting of the Akali Dal and the installation of a portrait of Rajinder Singh Dhaliwal, a former junior vice-president of the SGPC, in the central Sikh museum of the Golden Temple. However, Mr Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar, Akal Takht, and Mr Badal met at the museum site itself.

In yet another significant development, Mr Vedanti and Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar, Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, held a closed-door meeting here. Thought it could not be ascertained what transpired at the meeting, it is clear that they chalked out a strategy to humble Mr Talwandi who is agitated over the remarks purportedly made against him while issuing a statement on “bailing out” of Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister.

Talking to the Press, Mr Badal denied that he had any differences with Mr Talwandi. He said he always held Mr Talwandi in high esteem. Sources, however, said Mr Talwandi deliberately skipped all functions attended by Mr Badal. It was for the first time that an SGPC chief was absent during the installation of a portrait in the Sikh museum.

It may be mentioned here that Mr Talwandi has been endeavouring to sack Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti as Jathedar, Akal Takht, as the latter has pronounced that he (Mr Talwandi) could be summoned at Akal Takht for presenting siropa to one Kashmira Singh, an excommunicated Sikh.

Sources close to Mr Badal and Mr Talwandi said both leaders had decided to observe ceasefire in the wake of the forthcoming elections. Mr Badal has reportedly told Mr Talwandi that he was not being replaced as SGPC chief as per the speculations. The sources pointed out that Mr Talwandi and Mr Badal had also reached an amicable solution on the constitution of panel to probe the emergence of Baba Piara Singh Bhaniara and the burning of “birs”. It may be mentioned here that there was stand-off between Mr Badal and Mr Talwandi on the constitution of the probe panel. While the Chief Minister stuck to his stand that Justice K.S. Bhalla, a retired Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court would probe the incidents, Mr Talwandi insisted that the three-member panel could not be disbanded as it was constituted on the recommendation of the SGPC executive, Sikh clergy and Dharm Parchar Committee.