New Delhi: Tension and confusion prevailed through most parts of Punjab and areas of Haryana on Friday as the fight over faith between the Sikh community and followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect entered the fifth day.
Dera Sacha Sauda activists took out a protest march in Sirsa on Friday and reportedly burnt effigies of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
On Friday in a press conference, Dera Sacha Sauda said it didn’t mean to hurt Sikh sentiments and added that they are not responsible for the violence even as its supporters hold fresh rallies in Sirsa
Meanwhile, 11 CRPF battalions have reached Amritsar, Bathinda and Patiala and 19 more battalions will reach the spot soon. Paramilitary forces will stage a flag march in Amritsar.
Tight security arrangements were being made in the cotton-rich Malwa belt in south Punjab as Kamaljit is to be cremated later Friday and tempers are likely to run high.
Confusion reigned on both sides of the warring groups over their next course of action.
With one man, Kamaljit Singh, being killed in firing outside one of the sect campuses in Sunam town, 180 km from Chandigarh, Thursday night, the situation looked all the more volatile.
Kamaljit was one of the Sikhs coming back from the Sikh religious meeting at Takht Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo when the Sikh clergy called for complete social boycott of Dera Sacha Sauda followers and their godman Gurmit Ram Rahim and also sought his arrest by Sunday. The Sikh mob then attacked the sect campus.
Trouble started after a Dera leader appeared in newspaper advertisements a few days ago. Many Sikhs feel he insulted their religious sentiments by dressing up as Guru Gobind Singh.
But a Dera spokesperson clarified today that the advertisement was not meant to offend anyone.
He also blamed the Sikh activists for the violence. Dera Sacha Sauda spokesperson Aditya Insan has blamed SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar and other Akalis for all the violence on Thursday.
"Hired goons created all the tension on Thursday. SGPC Chief Avtar Singh Makkar and Bibi Jagir Kaur are to be blamed for this. There was violence all across the state but Dera supporters maintained peace," Dera Sacha Sauda Spokesman Aditya Insan said.
Punjab CM convenes all-party meeting
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday convened an all-party meeting in Chandigarh in the wake of sectarian strife between followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda and Sikhs even as an uneasy calm prevailed in parts of the state.
After four consecutive days of clashes at several places in Punjab, including Bathinda, Khanna and Ludhiana, between various Sikhs organisations and followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, Badal has convened an all-party meeting later in the day.
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Badal has also called a meeting of his cabinet colleagues in the wake of the clashes, which have claimed one life and injured over 100 people.
The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) - the highest decision making body of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) - will also meet under the chairmanship of Badal in the afternoon, party sources said.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the state Assembly Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had also convened a meeting of party MLAs on Friday afternoon.
Bhattal claimed that her party's first priority is to diffuse the present situation. "We will participate in the all-party meeting and take all necessary steps to diffuse the situation in the violence-ravaged state," she said.
Meanwhile, security forces were maintaining a tight vigil and paramilitary forces have been deployed at sensitive places, including Bathinda and Moga, in order to help Punjab police maintain law and order.
PM expresses concern over situation
Expressing concern over the situation in Punjab following clashes between members of Dera Sacha Sauda sect and Sikhs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed to the people in the state and neighbouring Haryana to maintain calm.
"I have spoken to the Chief Ministers of both the states in the last two days. I sincerely hope nothing will be done to flare up tempers and the situation in Punjab will be brought under control," PTI quoted Singh as saying.
He said that the people should maintain calm and not allow the situation go out of control. Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony of DMK MP Radhika Selvi as Minister of State, Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta rushed to the Prime Minister and briefed him about the situation in Punjab.
Gupta, who chaired a series of meetings last evening, had ordered rushing in of central para-military forces to Sirsa in Haryana and Punjab.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who also spoke to the Chief Ministers of both the states, said that 42 companies of central forces comprising CRPF, RAF and BSF have been despatched to Punjab and 10 companies to Haryana.
Seeking to address the issue politically, the Home Minister said the Centre was keeping a close watch and had also sent an advisory to neighbouring states like Rajasthan, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.
(With agency inputs)
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