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Bitter Amarinder-Badal polity leads to competitive rediscovery of Longowal

S P Singh

Real politics mothers many strange proclivities, and 17 years after his brutal assassination, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal's memory turned out to be still potent enough to juxtapose bitterly-opposed political streams at native place where the party he headed fought shy of sticking to the Punjab accord which he signed while the one he fought against said it was bound by it!  

As Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who fought against Congress-ruled Centre along with Longowal but now heads a Congress government, hailed the late leader as a "national martyr" and assailed Akali Dal president Parkash

Singh Badal for not sticking to the Punjab Accord, Badal said it was the Congress which ditched Longowal and sabotaged the accord which eventually led to his death.  

"Believe me, had the Congress not torpedoed the Punjab Accord, Sant

Longowal may not have been killed," Badal said.  

In Sherpur, where Longowal was assassinated days after inking the Accord with Rajiv Gandhi, All India Shiromani Akali Dal's Gurcharan Singh Tohra kept the attack focussed on Badal and his ally BJP while the star of his show, the inimitable Laloo Prasad Yadav blasted Badal for his alleged rough treatment of "good Akalis".  

Amarinder defended his government's decision to observe the death anniversary of Longowal as a state level function saying, "Those who die for the country are national martyrs and it is our duty to honour these martyrs, but alas, the Akalis never thought of extending the honour to Beant Singh who also died for the country." 

Interestingly, Badal repeatedly parried questions about whether his party still honours the Accord, but when asked whether the pact was implementable at all, said, "Congress had gone back on Accord soon after signing it. Now this question is redundant." 

But Longowal came in handy for both camps at the cheek-by-jowl rallies in Longowal's grain market where SAD-BJP front led by NDA chief George Fernandes, Union Minister Shah Nawaz, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, firebrand Uma Bharti and Badal himself upped the shrill index, talked about "atmosphere of zulm and atyachar" in Punjab and threatened a full-frontal agitation.    

Suave Jaitley turned on the rhetoric mode knob, saying, "We declare the beginning of an êiandolanêr by the Akali Dal and BJP to end the rule of tyranny in Punjab. Amarinder Singh must not think that we will watch helplessly and silently" -- his words pregnant with warning but stopping short of announcing any NDA probe delegation asked for by Badal.    

Fernandes said restrain was the keyword for Centre hitherto but he will now go back and talk to the Prime Minister. "NDA will decide its course thereafter," he added.    

High pitched public speeches – "You will find after a year and a half that all Congressmen's addresses are those of jail barracks," Uma Bharti said – and claims to be real inheritors of Longowal's legacy apart, both sides were hard put to explain some uncomfortable stances. Badal defended his suddenly re-discovered love for Longowal's memory saying "I was earlier very busy, but now I had time and that is why we decided to hold this function in such a big way" while Amarinder said he was abroad and announced the state-level function as soon as he got back.    

"Besides, I wasn't aware of the exact date," he said explaining why the government could give only two days' notice for such an important function. By all accounts, he kept a straight face when he said that.  

With a rather patented panthic tag and days of preparation, the Akalis succeeded in gathering far bigger crowd than the government could manage, a fact every Akali leader was eager to stress before journalists.    

"Ours was a crowd gathered at just two days’ notice, and considering that, we did a good job," said a close associate of Amarinder.  

But the real change seemed to be in Badal himself, who, very characteristically, seemed to have come into his elements at the sight of the mammoth sea of faces as he railed against Amarinder and his anti-graft drive calling it nothing but witch-hunt, a description which his BJP comrades from Centre fully backed.    

Apart from Congress, CPI and Balwant Singh Ramoowalia's Lok Bhalai Party also participated in the state-level function.  

Longowal's family finds aid flowing 

The competitive spirit in which death anniversary of Longowal was observed today ensured Rs One lakh aid to the late leader's sister Sham Kaur who also announced she has now joined Congress.    

Besides, five members of Longowal' family, reportedly not in the best of financial position, were promised government jobs. At AISAD rally at Sherpur too, four members of his family were honoured and given Rs 75,000 each as aid by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.■    

August 20, 2003

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