The Congress, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in particular, is always accused of having propped up Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale against the traditional Akalis. The charge, however, is denied by both the Congress as well as the supporters of the late militant leader. But the perception does prevail that Bhindrawale was initially propped up and encouraged by the Congress, till the time he assumed a powerful religio-political aura and went out of control.
Indira Gandhi was not too fond of regional parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab and the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir. With Akalis, Gandhi had a feeling of betrayal also, as the party was at the forefront against the emergency. Just nine years before the emergency, Gandhi had conceded the Akalis’ demand for a separate Punjabi speaking state of Punjab. Apparently in order to check their monopoly over panthic politics, with due advice from Punjab leaders, she reportedly propped up Bhindrawale. Where it ended is a tragic history.
Almost in a similar repeat of history, there is a widespread perception that radical Sikh preacher Amritpal, who got elected as Khadoor Sahib MP and is currently in jail, is being propped up by the BJP. In Punjab, the common refrain is that he is “the agencies’ man”. Nobody, for sure, knows what is meant by the “agencies”. But it roughly relates to the “deep state”. Again nobody has any idea what the “deep state” actually means or what and who constitutes it.
Unlike Bhindrawale, Amritpal does not have any formal religious education. Bhindrawale had studied in Damdami Taksal. He was a lifetime preacher and had command over Sikh scriptures. In stark contrast, Amritpal was a Dubai-based transporter before he landed in India some years ago to turn into a radical preacher. Unlike Bhindrawale, who connected with the Sikh masses through preaching, Amritpal was propelled by social media. Had he not taken the ‘panthic’ cover he may well have been like any other normal social media “influencer”.
Immediately after landing from Dubai and taking over the ‘Waris Punjab De’ organisation, he hogged the limelight for quite some time. His daring act of descending on a police station to free his supporters in Tarn Taran turned him into an overnight (anti)hero. But a substantial section of the Sikh population did not approve of his action, particularly when his supporters carried the holy Guru Granth Sahib to the police station, which was seen as a strategy to get cover as police could not take any action.
Eventually Amritpal landed in jail after the Punjab government booked him under the National Security Act. He is currently imprisoned in Dibrugarh Jail in Assam. It is from here that he contested the 2024 parliamentary elections from Khadoor Sahib constituency and won by a margin of over one lakh votes. Although he was given a brief parole to take the oath as an MP, he has not come out of the jail since then. His taking of oath under the Indian Constitution obviously implies his faith in the Constitution and the unity and integrity of the country.
Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh and his supporters formed a political party ‘Akali Dal-Waris Punjab De’. The party has fielded, one Mandeep Singh, as the candidate for the Tarn Taran by-election. Mandeep is the brother of Sandeep Singh, who is facing murder charges for killing Amritsar Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri. Sandeep is also accused of having attacked a former Punjab Police officer, who was sentenced to life in a case of fake encounter, inside the Patiala jail. That officer has since died.
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In the high-stakes battle, Amritpal’s candidate Mandeep is giving a run for the money to all the political parties, particularly the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. The Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal is also in the contest and is desperately trying to pull out a victory. However, more than its own victory, the SAD-B is concerned more about Amritpal’s party, as it is being supported by the breakaway faction of the Akali Dal headed by Giani Harpreet Singh.
This is how history appears to be repeating itself in Punjab. The BJP may not be directly supporting Amritpal. It is no secret that some of the leaders in the breakaway faction of the Akali Dal are closely linked with the BJP.
President Giani Harpreet Singh is believed to be in regular touch with the party. In fact, his “proximity” with the BJP, particularly Union Home Minister Amit Shah was one of the reasons he was removed as acting Akal Takht Jathedar by the Sukhbir Badal-controlled Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).
Even Surjit Rakhra, Prem Singh Chandumajra and Bibi Jagir Kaur are considered to be quite close to the BJP. Rakhra’s US-based NRI brother Darshan Dhaliwal was honoured by the BJP government a couple of years ago. This breakaway faction, with such close ties with the BJP, is supporting Amritpal, as it did not field any of its own candidates in the Tarn Taran by-election.
The BJP is also contesting the Tarn Taran by-election on its own.
The BJP is widely believed to be propping up the “breakaway” Akali Dal as opposed to the traditional party headed by Sukhbir Badal. Propping up splinter and radical groups like that of Amritpal may seem to be a good political/ electoral strategy in the short term, in the long run such things run the risk of proving dangerously counterproductive as happened with the Congress-Indira-Bhindrawale relationship, if there really was any.
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