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two Sikhs were killed. Brahmpura) has been expelled along with a former
All this while, the involvement of Dera Sacha MP (Rattan Singh Ajnala), a former minister (Sewa
Sauda in these sacrilege incidents and the politi- Singh Sekhwan) and two former MLAs (Amarpal
cal patronage given to the dera were being specu- Singh Ajnala and Ravinder Singh Brahmpura). With
lated. The police investigation never brought out any these expulsions, Parkash Singh Badal and
of these aspects. After Congress came to power, a Sukhbir Badal seem to have contained the rebellion.
Special Investigation Team of the Punjab Police At least for now.
headed by DIG Ranbir Singh Khatra “established” A lack of any perceptible action in sacrilege cases
the role of dera followers and its top brass. It angered of the Guru Granth Sahib, and a 2015 pardon granted
Sikhs across Malwa, which comprised the core vote by the Akal Takht to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gur-
bank of Akali Dal. meet Ram Rahim in a blasphemy case seem to have
The fact that sacrilege had happened during the hit the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) where it hurts.
rule of Akali Dal and it was unable to solve the crime, Recently, more than 30 Akali workers resigned
went against the party. These proved detrimental for from the party in SAD president Sukhbir Singh
the party’s poll prospects in the Assembly poll. All Badal’s constituency of Jalalabad.
this while, the dera kept its promise. Akali leaders Badal had earlier expelled MP Ranjit Singh
were called at the dera congregations and support
by the sect’s followers was announced for them. It
may be mentioned that the strategies to seek dera
support was not just restricted to Dera Sacha Sauda, The party, which is
headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, now jailed for
rape. The then government decided to do nothing gearing up for grand
about cremating the clinically dead Ashutosh Maha-
raj, head of the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan, Nurma- year-long celebrations
hal, in an effort to woo its followers. The Namdharis
and Radha Soami Satsang Dera Beas heads and their
followers too were kept in good humour. to commemorate 100
However, the panthic party was reduced to just 15
seats in the Assembly, its worst ever electoral per- years of its existence,
formance. The political damage to Akali Dal was
not over even after its political debacle in 2017. The is facing a vertical split.
Congress government constituted a commission of
inquiry under Justice Ranjit Singh. Though boycotted It waded into dissent
by the Akali Dal, it did them a more lethal and lasting
The old rules of power damage. It was enough to establish a link between
politics in SAD seem to the dera, Akali Dal and the incidents of sacrilege. with the expulsion of a
have passed their shelf life
Even as the Akali-BJP combine decided to stay away
from the debate on the report in the Punjab Vidhan sitting and a former MP.
Sabha, Congress was successful in taking the gist of
In fact a young party-Aam Aadmi Party was able to A bir of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen on June 1, the report to people. So SAD went on and on doing
pose a challenge to this century old party when AAP 2015, from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala one wrong after another.
emerged second at the hustling’s in 2017 elections. village in Faridkot. Rumours of involvement of dera
Earlier the results of General Election of 2014 had followers began doing the rounds. However, their REVOLT IN THE OFFING Brahmpura, his son Ravinder, former MP Rattan
jolted the then Akali-BJP regime out of its ‘power involvement was ruled out by the investigating A rebellion within the party followed. Otherwise Singh Ajnala and his son Amarpal to quell rebel-
slumber,’ as voters rejected them over the issues of officers from Punjab Police. It was not till September known to stick to the diktats of the party leadership, lion. Justifying the expulsions, SAD leaders Savinder
illegal sand mining and drugs. The rookie AAP was 24 and 25, 2015, that the police became active in the senior leaders started questioning the party presi- Singh Sehsara and Gulbagh Singh Billa said disci-
able to win four seats in Punjab in Lok Sabha polls. investigation. The trigger was two posters pasted at dent Sukhbir Singh Badal on why did he not par- pline was sacrosanct. However, damage had been
This equaled the SAD tally of four. the samadhi of Pir Dhoda in the same village, and in ticipate in the debate on the most important issue done and it was irreparable.
Left with little options, the SAD leadership man- the nearby Bargari village. facing the Sikh panth. No double, these leaders did The big dissent started in September, when Rajya
aged a pardon for the dera chief in September 2015. These contained offensive language against the not say a word against senior Badal-the former CM Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa resigned from
Granting a pardon to the dera head by the then Jathe- Sikhs and challenged the police to find the missing Parkash Singh Badal out of respect. However, many all posts. Matters worsened when Badal lashed
dar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh was alleg- bir. Pages of Guru Granth Sahib were then found voices of dissent started rising, especially by the out at the Bargari Insaaf ‘Morcha’ — an outfit
edly done in exchange for his support to the Akali scattered in Bargari on October 11, leading to massive old-guard (taksali) leaders of the party. A sitting MP demanding action and justice in sacrilege cases
Dal in the Assembly elections. Around the same time, protests. It was at two such protest sites — Kotkapura of the party, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, relinquished and the deaths of two youngsters in police firing
another major drama was unfolding. and Behbal Kalan — that the police used force and all party posts, another sitting MP (Ranjit Singh during a protest in Behbal Kalan — as agents of the

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