The greatest impact of the still ongoing farmers’ protest in India is that it has managed to dissipate the influence of the colossal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab, as the party faced the rage and anger of the farmers for inducing farm laws which they declared were ‘Kale Kanoon’. The agitating farmers have received political support from Opposition parties and people from across the globe.
With these laws now repealed, the next plan of action for the ruling government is to inverse the resentment it faced during the year-long farm movement, conspicuously so, when assembly elections for five states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are due early next year.
Within this frame of reference, the BJP’s so-familiar plan to inaugurate Manjinder Singh Sirsa, a senior leader of its former alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) becomes all the more dramatic and scheming. Wait-and–watch, he might only be the first in the list of others to follow from SAD and Congress.
Sirsa joined BJP in the presence of BJP leader and Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat and Dharmendra Pradhan. Following his induction, Sirsa thanked the BJP leadership and stated that he had worked with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and benefited people worldwide. He stated that Akali has been with the BJP for a long time and worked together on the Sikh problem.
Sirsa was also heading the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) for quite some time. He resigned from the post before joining the BJP. Announcing his resignation, he tweeted, "With gratitude to all office bearers, members, staff & people who worked with me; I am resigning from Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee as President. I will not contest the upcoming DSGMC internal elections. My commitment to serve my community, humanity & nation remains the same!"
Considered close to the Badal family that heads the Shiromani Akali Dal , Sirsa’s move is seen as a blow to the panthic (followers of the Khalsa Panth) party ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab early next year. Senior Akali leader and general secretary Daljit Singh Cheema issued a video message Wednesday evening, saying the BJP had given an example of indulging in ‘low level politics’, apart from trying to directly interfere in Sikh affairs. “This is also an attack on the Khalsa Panth,” said Cheema, adding “that this was part of the long-standing conspiracy of the Centre to control Sikh shrines”.
Sirsa, recently created a controversy over love jihad in Kashmir. In June this year, he falsely alleged that Sikh girls are being converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. He demanded a law mandating permission of parents for interfaith marriages in Kashmir. Having cited an example like this, it will not be wrong to call Manjinder Singh Sirsa a puppet of BJP ( as always was) who leaves no stone unturned to create a communal divide between two communities. What is most ridiculous about the whole drama that he staged is that he didn’t even take the opinion of any Sikh Kashmiri leader before barging in on the scene. He has already done a lot of detriment to the Sikh image worldwide and now with his pro-BJP advocacy, he stands nakedly exposed.
Since the farmers' protest started at Delhi’s borders, Manjinder Singh Sirsa had been speaking against the BJP for its stand on the issue. The DSGMC also ran a langar at the protest sites for almost a year. His stand on the 26 January violence case especially , was totally different from that of BJP. With him gone to them bag and baggage what remains to be seen is whether he will take up the issues of MSP as farmers are demanding from the government and forward the demands of the farmers. Has BJP accepted and allowed him to keep his stand on his fellow community men? Knowing the kind of command BJP runs, that seems to be the farthest possibility though.
Of late, Controversial 'Queen' Kangana Ranaut landed herself in trouble by making a provocative statement on farm laws. The then Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa lodged a complaint against her accusing of hateful remarks and demanded the withdrawal of Padam Shri conferred on her. "Kangana's statement on repeal of farm laws and likening farmers to the Khalistani terrorists is uncalled for," he alleged.
Hopefully, he will still stand firm with his previous stance of demanding stringent action against her by the Centre for her hateful content on Instagram. He had then opined that she should either be put in a mental asylum or in prison. I am really hopeful that this happens sooner than ever. At least that much the community can accept form a leader who claims to work only for Sikhs.
So will we soon see his twitter handle aflame with the blazing news of Kangan behind bars? Or all his previous stances against farm laws, CAA and love jihad will just bear witness to his hypocrisy and political mileage.
There is an increasing philosophical insolvency among political leaders, this they have proved infinite times in the past as well. Sirsa’s unexpected pronouncement to join the BJP only strengthens this credence, especially because the former MLA did not contest the 2020 Delhi assembly polls over differences with the BJP over the Citizen (Amendment) Act (CAA).
The BJP's intention is clear with Sirsa’s induction in the party . It wants to appease the farmers by instating a Sikh leader like Sirsa, who was among the biggest supporters of the farm movement. The BJP’s apparent game plan through Sirsa is to regain trust among the Sikh community after the farm laws debacle.
His becoming a member of the BJP and the social gathering’s anticipated alliance with former chief minister Amarinder Singh may , as per the leadership of BJP, helped them to brighten the saffron social gathering’s prospects in Punjab the place it was being seen to be on backfoot following the 12 months-lengthy protests by farmers.
We hope that Sirsa, the richest and the most influential Sikh political figure from Delhi will surely take up the case of protesters , being called Terrorists, Khalistanis , Separatists , Andolenjeevis, with no evidence , with his BJP ‘akas’ and soon we shall see an apology coming our way or else his hypocrisy, as we have been pointing in our previous articles as well, stands exposed.
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