Dera row takes on political colour

Chandigarh (Punjab): The Sikh leadership has called for a bandh in Punjab on Tuesday. The Sikhs have appealed not just to the Akal Takht to support their bandh, but has requested the whole of Punjab to comply.

The police is taking it very seriously, saying they will take all necessary steps to maintain peace. Says SSP Bathinda, Naunihal Singh, "We will take action against those who violate the law."

The bandh seems to be peaceful so far. Life in the units of the Dera is going on as usual and the only difference seems to be the fact that schools and colleges will remain closed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, after several days of restraint, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has finally given in to his political leanings and in a circuitous manner asked for the Dera Sacha Sauda chief to apologise for trying to emulate the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

With the Dera and Sikh religious bodies at loggerheads over the past few days, the state government has been trying to remain neutral, but Badal's demand could be a big blow to the peace maintaining effort.

Badal has so far refrained from taking sides, despite the fact that he heads a Sikh-dominated party, but on Monday, he seemed to be taking sides, finally faltering as he walked the tighrope to deal with the Sikh-Dera standoff.

"Considering the gravity of the situation, the Dera head must apologise. I am not saying that he should apologise because I am the head of this state, but it would calm the situation. However, it is for him to decide," he had said on Monday.

However, the Dera wants the state government to remain neutral.

Dera Spokesperson, Aditya Arora said on Monday, "Punjab government needs to ensure security of all the units of the Dera. It must abide by the law of the land."

The demand for an apology could also be due to the pressure and tension mounting because the Akali Dal's ally in Punjab, the BJP, says it would hold Badal directly responsible if the Sikh-Dera standoff spirals out of control.

Punjab BJP chief, Rajinder Bhandari had said, "We have already condemned the act of the baba, but in case the situation does not come under control soon and something goes wrong, then the government headed by Prakash Singh Badal will be solely responsible and answerable."

(With inputs from Jyoti Kamal in Chandigarh and Brijesh Pandey in New Delhi)

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