Panthic assembly asks Sikhs to boycott Badals

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 21

Declaring the father-son duo of Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal as “traitors of the Khalsa Panth”, the Panthic assembly on Sunday appealed to the Sikhs to boycott them.

The assembly, conducted by representatives of various Sikh organisations and intellectuals, passed resolutions on sacrilege, the Akal Takht Jathedar, functioning of the SGPC, and the Bargari Morcha.

The two-day assembly was held on the lines of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, with Sukhdev Singh Bhaur playing the role of the “Speaker”. The conveners included Navkiran Singh, Prof Jagmohan Singh, Jaswinder Singh Advocate and Kanwarpal Singh.

A resolution was also adopted to mourn the deaths in the Amritsar train tragedy.

The assembly unanimously rejected the “dummy” Jathedars being appointed by the SGPC in the absence of norms for appointment and removal of Takht heads.

“If the SGPC continues with its undemocratic process of appointing the Jathedar at the behest of the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership, the incumbent will meet the same fate as that of Giani Gurbachan Singh and will not be acceptable to the community,” the Panthic leaders said.

The assembly demanded a ban on Dera Sacha Sauda activities under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Though dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim is behind bars for his other sins, Sikhs will not get justice till he is tried in a court and punished for acts of blasphemy and sacrilege, the leaders added.

They endorsed the Bargari Morcha and all demands put forth on that platform. The Panthic assembly resolved to publish a “white paper” to look into the Bargari, Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura incidents in the context of the Sirsa dera’s role. A committee of lawyers, human rights activists and other experts will soon be formed to draft the “white paper”.

The assembly asked the Central Government to respond positively to Pakistan’s proposal on the Kartarpur corridor.

Those who spoke included Harpal Singh Cheema (president, Dal Khalsa), SGPC member Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, advocate HS Phoolka, Navjot Kaur Chabba, Rajinder Singh (convener, Khalsa Panchayat), Karnail Singh Peermohammad, Jasbir Singh Ghuman, Angrej Singh Pannu, Balwinder Singh Missionary and Tarsem Singh Delhi.