Will Manmohan Singh outweigh Congress? Behind SGPC decision to put on hold former PM’s portrait

A wary SGPC showed little delay in heeding Rajona’s appeal given Sikh sentiments around the Congress’s role both in the riots and in the Operation Blue Star that preceded it, when the Army had entered Golden Temple to flush out militants holed in the shrine, under the Indira Gandhi-led Central government. In 1992, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the SAD had stayed away from the elections in response to a boycott call by Sikh militants. He was killed in 1995.

SGPC and Manmohan Singh

While the anger against the Congress meant that in 2002, the Golden Temple management had denied Amarinder Singh due honour when he visited the shrine for the first time as CM following the Congress’s victory in the Assembly polls, the SGPC had been kinder towards Manmohan Singh.

When Manmohan Singh became PM for the first time in 2004, Parkash Badal, the patriarch of the Shiromani Akali Dal – which controls the SGPC – had accompanied him to the Golden Temple, and ensured he was accorded a proper welcome.

On August 11, 2005, addressing the Rajya Sabha, Manmohan Singh apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Before that, no Congress leader of import had done so, with the fact that Manmohan Singh was a Sikh adding more import to his apology.

“I have no hesitation in apologising to the Sikh community. I apologise not only to the Sikh community, but to the whole Indian nation because what took place in 1984 is the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our Constitution,” Manmohan Singh said.

After Manmohan Singh passed away in December last year, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had slammed the BJP-led NDA government over confusion regarding his funeral.

SAD ideologue Harcharan Singh Bains had spoken about how Badal Senior had always enjoyed good relations with Manmohan Singh, despite being critical of the Congress.

The Congress has slammed the SGPC for going back on its decision to put up Manmohan Singh’s portrait. Terming the move “shameful”, former Punjab Deputy CM and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said: “It was due to Manmohan Singh that the turban was recognised all over the world. Despite comprising just 2% of the country’s population, he remained PM for 10 years. Is it not an achievement we should celebrate? We are not doing any justice to Manmohan Singh by holding this decision (of installing the portrait)… Manmohan Singh gave many projects and funds to Punjab. It is up to Sukhbir to tell us why the former PM’s portraits must not be installed at the museum.”

Rajoana’s past with SAD

While other Sikh militants often slam the SAD over a host of issues, Rajoana has always stood firmly behind the party. In 2012, Rajoana hit the headlines after he decided against seeking mercy from the President, in turn garnering sympathy for himself and the SAD, which was helming Punjab at the time.

The SAD-BJP government in Punjab then successfully deployed many political and administrative measures to defer Rajoana’s hanging. A week before the scheduled hanging, then Jathedar of the Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh, who had conferred the ‘Fakhr-e-Quam’ title on Badal Senior in 2011, declared Rajoana ‘Zinda Shaheed (living martyr)’. The move was seen to have brought Rajoana closer to the SAD and SGPC.

Since 2014, Rajoana has openly appealed to the people to vote for the SAD, whose support base has been dwindling since the 2015 sacrilege incidents under its government in Punjab.

SAD’s compulsions

Reduced to just one seat each in the Punjab Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha, the SAD is looking for a boost from any quarter it can find, and hence it is hard for it to ignore Rajoana’s demands which appeal to a section of its Panthic base.

Following Rajoana’s letter, SGPC secretary Partap Singh said, “The SGPC respects the sentiments of the Sikh community and believes that a general consensus among Sikhs is essential on this matter. A decision regarding the portrait will be reconsidered in a future meeting of the Executive Committee.”

Bains said the SGPC was the only competent body to take a call on the proposal. “In my personal opinion, there is nothing personal in the matter as Rajoana’s sentiment concerns the anti-Sikh role played by the party which Manmohan Singh represented,” he said.