Farmers Movement Archive

SAD-BJP ties: From ‘unconditional support’ in 1996 to be left in cold in 2020

Jalandhar: From declaring “unconditional support” to Atal Behari Vajpayee led BJP government in 1996, just after winning the Parliament elections from Punjab in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party, things have come full circle for five-time former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. BJP’s refusal to heed their concerns on farm bills, which resulted in Harsmirat Kaur Badal’s resignation from Union cabinet, has put the alliance under severe strain. Even if Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is continuing to stay in NDA, the alliance – which Badal would often taking pride in saying ‘nahun mass da rishta’ (bond between nail and flesh) – is near breaking point, especially with Akali leaders feeling insulted. Badal never wavered in unconditional support to BJP, even as Punjab faced several issues for decades. That Badal senior announced the support on his own was evident from the fact that then Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president, late Gurcharan Singh Tohra, only other leader in the party equal to stature in Badal, opposed this idea of unconditional support. “Tohra always argued that parties of minorities or the regional parties could not offer unconditional support to a central party and should rather make a coalition with regional parties and should always first lay conditions in the interests of their community and state,” said Tohra’s protégé and SGPC member Karnail Singh Panjoli. Former SGPC secretary Kulwant Singh Randhawa in his book “June, 84 Shiromani Committee Nu Grehan” recorded the strained relationship between Tohra and Badal. “On October 2, 1998 Tohra said days of unconditional support to BJP were over as BJP refused to heed Akali Dal’s demand to not include Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal and then on October 3 he issued another statement that (LK) Advani’s statement about Chandigarh continuing to remain UT was a slap on SAD’s face and Akali dal should withdraw its support,” Randhawa noted, adding that these statements damaged Badal’s image and he and his associates decided that Tohra would have to be removed from post of SGPC president. Within a few months, Tohra was shown the door. “BSP founder and supremo Kanshi Ram was very angry when Badal announced unconditional support to BJP without even consulting or apprising him even as 1996 election was contested in alliance. Kanshi Ram would often say Badal had ditched Panth, Punjab and Dalits by announcing unconditional support,” said noted Sikh author Gurbachan Singh, who worked closely with Kanshi Ram for several years and even remained present during his important meetings. “Akali Dal under Badal compromised its core ideology — Panthic identity and more powers to states — when it unconditionally supported BJP, when it supported POTA even as it had opposed TADA and when it supported GST, which gave more financial power to the Centre,” said former IAS officer and noted Sikh author Gurtej Singh. However, now BJP appears to have left Akali Dal in a lurch when the party was facing a lot of heat on agri bills. Today, the second oldest party of the country appears to be far removed from the days of “unconditional support”, as it battles hard to save its core base.

The Times of India

2020-09-19

Chandigarh