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Though Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal had been
in limbo for almost two decades, he remained the fulcrum around
which Sikh and Punjab politics revolved. Admired by some for his
political stamina, mass base, and tireless campaigning, and flayed
by others for his fundamentalist leanings, opportunism, and
evasivenes, Badal finally proved last month that regardless of
everything, he remains the only true barometer of the Sikh, nay
Punjabi, mood, and that he has to be the central component of any
meaningful effort to bring a lasting and genuine peace in the
sensitive border state. Indeed, in spite of concerted attempts to
paint him as a sympathizer of the terrorists, Badal remains the
only Sikh politician who finds wide acceptability among all
sections of Punjabi Hindus,
In an exclusive interview with VICKY SANDHU, Badal, who took over
last month as chief minister of Punjab for the third time, spoke of
the agony of the past and the hopes for a brighter future.
Excerpts:
The Congress and the Left assert that the formation of your Akali
Dal government will lead to a resurgence of militancy in Punjab.
How do you react?
They said the same during 'the last Lok Sabha elections. The
people of Punjab rejected that charge and gave us a near 90 per
cent mandate. The same thing happened during the Shiromani
Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee poll.
The Congress and the Leftists have virtually no presence in Punjab.
They have been thrown out by the Hindus and the Sikhs together.
It is about time they stopped talking about people they don't
represent.
Can you now identify the party responsible for the mess that Punjab
had got Into?
In 1991's aborted assembly poll, as many as 27 Akali candidates
were killed. The Congress had boycotted that poll. In the 1992
poll, which we boycotted, not a single candidate or supporter his
was killed. Does that answer your question?
But I will be more specific and tell you that the Congress
engineered, sustained, and promoted violence in Punjab. All this
was done with a view to maligning us and the whole Sikh community.
The Punjabis have demolished that conspiracy now.
You have in the past been attending bhog ceremonies for
militants....
A large number of our party ,workers were killed in mysterious
circumstances. As a human being and as a leader of my party, it
was my moral duty to attend the bhog ceremonies. The Congress,
which branded every Sikh as a militant, went around on a
misinformation campaign. Once again, the Punjabis have given a
befitting reply to that charge in the last [two] elections.
The Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance is being described as
a communal alliance that will affect the secular nature of the
country....
This is laughable, to say the least. Those who accuse the Akalis
of being communal obviously mean that we represent the Sikh
community. The BJP is seen to be representing the Hindus. We have
brought the Hindus and the Sikhs on one platform. We fought these
elections on the issue of Punjabi unity. The Hindus and the Sikhs,
who had been set against each other by the Congress's politics of
divisiveness, gave a forceful expression of unity. This has
unnerved those who wanted to rule by dividing the people. Hence
such maverick accusations. Why are the Congress and the Leftists
afraid of the Hindus and the Sikhs coming together?
But what about the charge that both your parties mix religion with
politics?
It is a question of basing political goals on certain ideals. If
they happen to be the ideals given to us by our great gurus, rishis
and prophets, can you really see anything wrong in it?
We are against mixing politics with communalism as the Congress is
doing. There is nothing wrong with mixing religious ideals like
truth, justice, equality, freedom of conscience, tolerance etc with
out political approach. In any case, a truly religious man would be
the most secular as religion teaches us that all human beings are
equal and worthy of our love and care.
Some years ago, you had burnt copies of the Constitution of
India....
Let's not talk about the past. There has been bitterness all
around in the past. We want to end the period of unseemly
confrontation. It is up to the Centre to reciprocate by accepting
all the genuine demands of the state.
In any case, the Constitution is not above the country. We are not
only the votaries of the strength and the unity and integrity of
the country, we are its defenders. No one has made more sacrifices
for this country than we have. Those accusing us of hurting
national interests have done everything to weaken this country, or
haven't they?
You came to power on an anti-corruption plank. But two of the key
officers close to you are now facing a CBI Central Bureau Of
Investigation inquiry on the same issue.
These cases, handed over to the CBI hours before the declaration of
the results of the [assembly] elections in a hush-hush manner and
at an unearthly speed, clearly smack of a conspiracy to trip my
government. But we will not stand in the way of the law. The law
will be allowed to take its own course.
Doesn't the Anandpur Sahib resolution, by which you and your party
swear, smack of secessionism?
Does it? It demands more powers for the states. We believe that
this country can become truly one of the strongest nations in the
world through a genuinely federal structure. Every party, including
the Leftists, are making the same demand today. Stronger limbs
mean a stronger body and stronger states mean a stronger nation.
We want that the balance of resources be recast in favour of the
states to ensure greater development, that the rampant misuse of
Article 356 be stopped through effective constitutional guarantees,
and that state governments be taken into confidence in the matter
of gubernatorial appointments.
Let me state it very categorically. We are for a strong India.
And let me assure the country, if indeed assurance is necessary,
that Punjab will continue forever to be the strong arm and the food
bowl of India. There is no ambiguity about that.
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