Chandigarh: "Hum toh Sri Guru Gobind Singh maharaj ji ke bina koi sabd hi nahi bolte. Woh toh bahut unsh kothe ka malik swarup guru hai. Hum uska nakal karna toh door, hum sochte bhi nahi, (I have always held Guru Gobind Singh in high esteem. I can never think of aping him. Whatever is happening is very unfortunate. It was not imitation, I did not mean any harm."
That was Ram Rahim, the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda, saying in clear words that he didn't mean to disrespect Guru Gobind Singh. This seems to have calm down Punjab and violence involving the Dera Sacha Sauda is decreasing slowly.
But Dera followers were in stark contrast to the mellow Baba. The Baba may be trying to calm his followers down and bring peace, but his supporters continue to show their anger towards the Akalis and Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal in several parts of Punjab.
In Sunam, there was anger from the Akalis as several Akali supporters and Baba's critics gathered to mourn the first casualty of the clash of faith that has engulfed Punjab. It was the funeral of Prakash Singh, who was killed when Akalis and Dera Sachcha Sauda supporters clashed on Thursday.
But in the entire drama, what became clear was the failure of the Badal Government to deal with the situation. All that Prakash Singh Badal had to offer was a series of meetings and monetary assistance.
"The IB is conducting a probe into the incident. We will take further action on this once the report comes in," the Chief Minister says. For Badal, it's a tightrope walk, balancing faith with politics. He is also under pressure from his ally, the BJP, which expressed concern over the simmering situation. Badal will now have to use all his political acumen to win this one.
Baba may have mellowed and there may be pressure from the Centre to bring peace to the state, but the SGPC is in no mood to relent. "The SGPC is the apex body of all Sikhs world over. We will follow whatever the SGPC says. We are ready for any sacrifice if need be. And the once who have tried to harm the Panth, we will put them in their place," Avtar Singh Makkar, the head of SGPC, declares.
(With Brijesh Pandey)
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