Rakhra’s appointment as president of Youth Akali Dal Rural raises eyebrows

Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 30

Almost a month after a police case was registered against Inderjit Singh Rakhra and revenue officers from Patiala after they ignored court orders and “forcibly tried to take over panchayat land” in the ancestral village of former Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has appointed Rakhra as the district Youth Akali Dal (YAD) president (rural). 

Despite a FIR pending against him he attended a function addressed by the state chief, Bikram Majithia, on Tuesday. 

Insiders in the party confirmed that the charges pressed against Inderjit Rakhra were serious. Following a pending FIR YAD leadership could have kept him at a distance till he was cleared of the case, they added. 

“Such mistakes ahead of the Lok Sabha poll can cost us dear,” said a YAD leader, preferring anonymity, adding that, “The only qualification of Inderjit is that he hails from the former Cabinet Minister’s village.” 

Sources within the SAD stated that the appointment of Inderjit Rakhra had raised eyebrows within the party as many senior youth leaders from the district were ignored and a ‘Patit’ (a Sikh who cuts his hair) was appointed as the district (rural) chief. 

“Inderjit, with a FIR pending against him was present at the YAD rally on Tuesday. He can cause embarrassment to the whole party”, said the sources. 

Meanwhile, Sikh spiritual leaders expressed dismay at the rapidity with which a new generation of young men was trimming their hair and abandoning the turban, the most conspicuous emblem of the Sikh faith. 

“Already Shiromani Akali Dal is facing rebellion by many senior leaders pointing towards entry of young brigade, which does not even follow basc Sikh tenets,” they said. 

A former SAD councillor also criticised the party leadership for ignoring merit and appointing such leaders at senior posts in YAD.  “It will surely create divisions,” he said. 

In December last year, former SAD sarpanch Inderjit Rakhra, along with revenue officers from Patiala allegedly ignored court orders and “forcibly tried to take over Panchayat land”, which is in possession of Young Farmers Association, an organisation dealing with agriculture.

After a complaint by the Dhablan Kanungo, the Bakshiwala police booked Inderjeet Rakhra, Vicky, Karamjit Singh, Tarlochan Singh and 15 to 20 unidentified persons for deterring public servants and rioting. In fact, the suspects along with dozens of villagers had started a ‘Path’ on the disputed land.

The police booked the suspects under Section 353, 186, 447, 427, 506, 511, 148 and149, IPC, but failed to arrest them. The suspects were not arrested after senior officers marked an enquiry into the whole FIR, said Rajwinder Kaur, SHO Bakshiwala. 

However, Surjit Singh Rakhra admitted that both the leaders appointed in YAD were “Sikhs with shorn hair”. “However, an FIR against Inderjit Rakhra is politically motivated and I stand with him,” he said.

The Patiala District Congress Committee president, KK Malhotra, said, “The YAD leadership selected two candidates as district presidents ignoring their own cadre. Both are ‘Patit Sikhs’ with shorn hair. This shows that the party is misusing religion and misguiding youths.” 

YAD (Urban) chief too surprises many

Even the appointment of Youth Akali Dal (Urban) district president Avtar Singh Happy has surprised many as he switched sides from the BJP to YAD a few days ago and pipped many leaders to bag the district president’s seat. A video of Happy, a former councillor, has also gone viral wherein he is leading many bike-borne youths, a majority of whom are not wearing helmets and are triple riding on their two-wheelers on busy Patiala roads, to Bikram Majithia’s rally. Happy is also a ‘Patit Sikh’ with shorn hair.