CHAPTER FOUR
WOUNDS STILL BLEED
A cursory glance over the policies and administration of the SAD-BJP
Government in Punjab during the four years of its mis-rule, will
convince everybody that the Badal-SAD govt. is another regime that
could prove every bit as monstrous. There seems to be no difference
between the Congress Govt. of Beant Singh and the present SAD-BJP
Govt. led by Parkash Singh Badal except that one Chief Minister
wore black glasses and the other simple. Both the governments have
proved themselves to be anti-people, anti-human rights and a government
promoting own family interests. With a record number of scams, scandals
and cases of rampant corruption in the administration and even at
ministerial level and first ever situation of total bankruptcy in
the state, Parkash Singh Badal has exposed his intentions and backed
out from the pre-poll promises made with the people. There came
out to be a long gap between performance and promise. The Akali
Dal manifesto had promised that it would give Punjab a corruption
free regime, a good government, all round development and would
hold an impartial high level probe into the decade long violence.
But after the elections, they bade goodbye to all these promises.
Tragic indeed, People were once again befooled, but this time by
their own men. Badal's pre-poll promises and whimsical style of
functioning after becoming the Chief Minister, has alienated the
faith of the people in the system. The tale of blunders committed
by the Punjab govt. in the last four years is a case of total betrayal.
Even the repeated warning of "Perform or perish" given
by the people in the form of volatile mandate against the Badal
Govt. in assembly election in Adampur in 1998 and Parliamentary
elections in 1999 could not bring him closer to reality. It would
not be gainsaying the fact that the coming years may bring another
turmoil in the State and the everlasting downfall of the Shiromani
Akali Dal and the Badal family. The gains made by them at the beginning
of their rule got frittered away towards the close of their regime.
Before coming to power, the same person sitting on the throne, was
shouting loud and high that if voted to power, he would certainly
fulfill the genuine demands of the people. The demands and grievances
as put up by the Shiromani Akali Dal were the immediate transfer
of Chandigarh to Punjab, the inclusion of Punjab-speaking areas
left outside into the state, settlement of Punjab's claims on river
waters, high level probe into the decade long violence in the State,
exemplary punishment to the guilty of 1984 carnage and a just and
judicious solution to the other problems being faced by the people.
These demands and grievances had formed the foundation of political
speeches in the pre-election period. But after the elections, neither
the Shiromani Akali Dal nor its President thought it fair to even
make a passing reference to these issues. Isn't it highly unfair
to maintain stoic silence on such burning issues and raking up other
irrelevant issues.
On the basis of pre-poll promise to end the police raj, withdrawal
of cases and release of all TADA detainees and political prisoners
languishing in jails, holding inquiry into the cause and effect
of violence in the State, punishing the guilty police officials
and a government free from corruption, the Sharomani Akali Dal bagged
over-whelming majority in 1997. People reposed confidence in them
and hoped for a better future for the state. But pretty soon, these
politicians forgot everything. "Bury the past', 'pay for the
favor' and 'get my kin on the post' became their favorite slogan.
Instead of withdrawing TADA cases against all the political prisoners,
only 31 politicians including the Chief Minister himself and former
SGPC President, Gurcharan Singh Tohra were rewarded with withdrawal
of their cases in March 1997, much to the disenchantment of hundreds
of poor prisoners. Many political prisoners are languishing in jails
even today, belying the chief minister's statement that only 20
to 30 TADA detainees are left in jail. The cause of human rights
has been kept at the back seat since the day Mr.Parkash Singh Badal
took over the reigns of the State, while tainted police officers
toil with crisis of their own creation. The Chief Minister even
went out of his way to express his satisfaction over the unlawful
activities of the cruel men of his force and not only exonerated
all policemen responsible for killing hundreds of innocent Sikh
youth in false police encounters, summary executions and even made
them dis-appear for ever, but also assured them financial and moral
support in their court cases. He even tried his best to protect
the 'killer cops' by sitting over the requests for sanction to prosecute
the guilty police officials. In one such case, the Chief Minister
withheld the sanction order of the prosecution of a sacked SP Balkar
Singh, and four other policemen found responsible by the CBI for
the extra-judicial killing of Jaswant Singh alias Jassa of Kaleke
Village who was kidnapped from his residence by the police on November
8,1992 and shown killed in a fake encounter on November 16,1992.
Similarly, the State government created a flutter when it ordered
the reinstatement of a sacked DSP in 1998 who carried the burden
of many CBI inquiries on his shoulders. He was even found responsible
for killing many persons in fake encounters by the CBI Reacting
to the demand of the masses and various human rights organisations,
he stirred a hornets' nest by chanting the slogan of "forget
the past". This disenchant mantra evoked strong protest from
every corner. Agitation and mass movement was built to force the
party to fulfill pre-poll promises made by it. But not even a single
policeman in Punjab has been brought to book during the long spell
of four years of Akali rule. This soft stance of Badal encouraged
the ruthless Punjab policemen to continue with their onrush of atrocities
on poor people, resulting in more than ninety custodial deaths since
1997.
The demand for a judicial commission to inquire into the cause and
effect of decade long violence in the State was met with cold face.
There was no intention to scratch the wounds and open a new deadly
front, but to establish where and how the political masters went
wrong and what steps would be required so that those gory days do
not return. But what one hears now is that the judicial probe would
open floodgates of litigation and would harm the hard won peace
and expose the corruption among the political class. Another face
of corruption has come up with more freshness. This time in the
name of party donations or the like. As was in the past, even today,
every post from a peon to the managing director of a Public Sector
Undertaking is saleable. Pay the price and get the work done, is
what one notices overtly in Punjab government offices. While the
ministers are minting money for even slightest of favor to the people,
the State is reeling under serious financial crunch. It was perhaps,
for the first time in history that the State exchequer became empty
and bankruptcy was declared in the State in December 1998. This
grim fiscal scenario badly affected the wheels of development in
the State. So tight is the situation that the Govt. does not have
money even to pay salaries to its employees and funds for running
essential services like transport, education and medical services.
Among the many reasons for this state of bankruptcy as explained
by the experts are, slow infrastructure development, increasing
direct and indirect subsidies to many sectors, falling rate of growth
of tax and non-tax revenues and abolition of important local taxes
in order to please the business class. The employees did not get
their salaries for months, state transport buses failed to come
on road due to non-availability of oil, Schools came on the brink
of closure with teachers without salaries and buildings in dilapidated
condition, pensioners crying for their pension. Even the High Court
of Punjab & Haryana made it clear that a total restrain order
on the payment of salary to the employees of higher strata would
be passed unless the State govt. pays salary to its Class IV employees.
Inspite of this crisis, it was informed by Finance Minister in the
Vidhan Sabha that a total sum of Rs.12 crore is incurred every month
for maintaining the vehicular and security needs of the Ministers
and MLA's. On account of State's failure to pay salary to its employees
and creditors for many months, the state govt. found itself in a
quandary with many govt. buildings and moveable properties brought
under court attachment. The MARKFED, Punjab even decided to mortgage
their building in order to clear off their debts. Inspite of Court's
order for one car-one officer policy, every corporation and department
of the State still keeps more than four cars putting heavy burden
on the State exchequer. The Cavalcade of the Chief Minister, himself
included about a hundred govt. cars in the general elections in
1999 during election rallies at Faridkot in support of his son Sukhbir
Badal. The expenses incurred by his loyalists on their travelling
can be well imagined.
Kith and kin of the Chief Minister and his favorite Akali leaders
found special favor from the government for pocketing various political
posts. The trend was set into motion by the Chief Minister himself
when he succeeded in inducting his son Sukhbir Badal as Industries
Minister in the Centre in 1997, followed by his nephew Manpreet
Badal, as MLA and recently his son-in law Adesh Partap Singh Kairon
as Cabinet Minister in his ministry. His brothers-in-law Gurpreet
Singh and Inderjit Singh were made Sarpanches of two panchayats
after carving out a new panchayat named Bhai Harjoginder Nagar.
Toeing the path, Mr.Sikander Singh Malooka, a Cabinet Minister got
his son Gurpreet Singh, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, an M.P. got his
son Balraj Singh Bhunder ,Baldev Singh Khaiala, a Cabinet Minister
got his son Nirmal Singh Khaiala inducted as directors of Central
Co-operative Banks. Senior Akali leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi got
his son Ranjit Singh as Chairman of Punjab Mandi Board, which he
continued to occupy even after his conviction for life in a murder
case. Even the younger son of Jagdev Singh Talwandi was gifted with
Chairmanship of another corporation. Dissention started brewing
within the party for distribution of all political posts to the
near and dear ones of the Chief Minister. In 1998 even Harsimrat
Kaur, the daughter-in-law of Chief Minister, and wife of Sukhbir
Badal, created a flutter in administrative circles in Faridkot,
when she summoned and misbehaved with deputy commissioner and other
senior police officials. According to media reports, Badal's putra-moh
was one of the reason for the miserable defeat of SAD in the parliamentary
elections in 1999.
The routing of Shiromani Akali Dal in 1999 parliament elections
owes to a considerable extent to its promises of free electricity
and water to the farmers. So many years after the Green Revolution,
the leaders do not seem to have fathomed the reality that the rural
electorate is no longer impoverished. The farmer is mature enough-to
regard freebies with suspicion. What he wants is not free service
but reliable service. He has the capacity to pay, but he knows of
the government's inability to provide uninterrupted power supply.
The people have now clearly voted against the pauperization of the
State, which was once the example of progress.
Political interference in religious matters of the Sikh community
by the Akalis witnessed many unpleasant happenings in the last three
years. Because of the undue interference and meddling into the religious
affairs, Punjab today shows symptoms of religio-political schizophrenia.
In its fight to become supreme, the Chief Minister got his first
opponent Gurcharan Singh Tohra removed from the Presidentship of
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee followed by the sacking
of Bhai Ranjit Singh, the daring Jathedar of Akal Takht on April
28,1998 and installation of Giani Puran Singh as the new Jathedar
on February 15,1999. These events infuriated not only the two leaders,
but also the entire Sikh community, who took it as an attack on
their religious freedom and saw a traitor in Badal. This development
ultimately led to the un-precedented loss of vote bank of Akalis
in the rural areas. Gurcharan Singh Tohra had rightly warned Mr.Badal
of revolt from within if he continued with his policy of self-interest.
After routing almost all the Parliament seats in the General elections
in 1999, Mr.Badal or his loyalists may blame Tohra or Bhai Ranjit
Singh for their defeat, but for the masses, it was a fatwa against
unwarranted interference by politicians in their religious affairs.
Lowering the sanctity and respect of the highest temporal Institutions
by installing Bibi Jagir Kaur and Bhai Puran Singh as the President
of S.G.P.C. and Akal Takht respectively in a most obtrusive manner,
raking a controversy during the ter-centenary celebrations of the
Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in April, 1999 by dividing the Sant Samaj,
also evoked strong public resentment. More than a hundred crore
rupees have allegedly gone down the drain and ostensibly distributed
among the corrupt politicians and religious leaders for bringing
a new life to Anandpur Sahib. What good all this tantara did to
the people, is any body's guess. Putting Baba Darshan Singh of Dhakki
Sahib Dera in Distt.Ludhiana in jail for months and the failure
of the State Govt. in arresting the accused persons who set the
dera on fire in December, 1999 gave a blow to the reputation of
Shiromani Akali Dal.
Trapped in a precarious debt, hundreds of farmers committed suicide
across the state, leaving a trail of destruction and suffering.
The spade of suicides and hapless farmers tell their own tales.
A recent study based on the detailed investigations conducted by
social scientists, into the circumstances leading the poor farmers
to commit suicide in Punjab, tells a disturbing story. During their
investigation stretched upto twelve villages in Sangrur and related
belt, it was found that of the 80 farmers who committed suicide,
62.5 % were cultivators, 31.25% were agricultural laborers and rest
5.25 % were engaged in non-agricultural occupation. A majority of
farmers were small landless agriculturists who could not even pay
off the lease money to the landowners and the bank loans due to
less crop produce and insignificant price of the produced crop.
Ironically, the State Govt. did not even think of giving a relief
package as a gesture to console the bereaved families. Instead,
the policy of the govt. in levying huge taxes, octroi and increase
in the price of the fertilizers, diesel and other items virtually
broke the back of the farmers. The policies of the State Govt. including
that of free electricity to agriculture sector, benefited only big
landlords and proved to be a curse for the small agriculturist.
The common man is the worst sufferer with ever increasing bus fares,
black-marketing of essential commodities and rampant corruption
at every level of the government badly affecting their right to
life. Today, Govt. jobs are available at a price and transfer and
promotions have become a source of income for the Ministers and
even the kith and kin of the Chief Minister. From a Village Patwari
to a Minister of cabinet rank in Punjab Govt. and even the Chief
Minister, his son and wife have been accused of amassing huge wealth
through unfair means. The agenda of the SAD promising a corruption
free-government seems to have been thrown out since long by the
very persons who shouted for it every now and then. Every govt.
servant today, blames the system in which a subordinate pays bribe
for getting a job and demands bribe in return. No body appears to
be accountable and interested in pondering for a moment over the
question that, what's the fault of a common man seeking justice
?
The level of education in government institutions has reached rock
bottom level with no funds for appointing qualified teachers, improving
the infrastructure and constructing school buildings. Contrary to
the tall claim of the Chief Minister for repairing more than three
hundred dilapidated school buildings, the State Education Secretary
has submitted in the Punjab State Human Rights Commission during
the hearing of a complaint, that more than five hundred and eighty
five school buildings have been declared unsafe and at present more
than two thousand vacancies of teachers, head masters and other
staff remain to be filled in govt. schools. Inspite of so many vacancies,
thousands of ad-hoc teachers have been made jobless by the Punjab
govt. which infuriated them and one teacher even took his life during
the three month long agitation in Chandigarh. The decision of Punjab
govt. in de-recognizing registered medical practitioners also evoked
great public outcry and agitation. The problem of un-employment
would have been easily overcome by employing qualified teachers
in govt. schools where vacancies already exist, but the State govt.
appears to be more interested in becoming a part of the problem
rather than finding a solution.
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission constituted by the State
govt. also failed to justify its purpose. It has completely failed
to make its presence felt in the minds of the wrongdoer. The lackadaisical
and indifferent approach of the Judges of the Commission towards
complaints of human rights violations has made its working non-existent.
This kind of attitude is not surprising from a breed of people who
had no previous record or concern for the numerous lives and gross
violations of human rights in the decade long violence. Because
it always accepts the police version as a gospel truth, many cases
of custodial deaths were simply dismissed for lack of evidence.
There has been no change in the law and order situation in the State.
Roaming in a public place with yellow turban and flying beard is
seen with suspicion even today. There is no change in the attitude
of the Punjab police towards the Sikhs. About two hundred youth
have been falsely implicated in militancy-related crimes since 1997.
This statement is corroborated by the report of Additional Director
General of Police, Punjab attached with the Punjab State Human Rights
Commission. The then D.G.P. of Punjab police, Mr.P.C.Dogra had publicly
held that all the human rights activists and persons highlighting
police atrocities are anti-nationals. He ordered many innocent people
to be implicated in the case of attempt to kill VIP in the State.
Even today, newspapers prominently quote police officers claiming
to have busted a suicide gang of militants attempting to kill the
Chief Minister or other VIP's and show recovery of huge quantity
of RDX and other explosives. Verification of police stories by different
human rights groups have proved it to be palpably false and figment
of imagination and total failure of control over corrupt police
force in the State. Mr. P.C. Dogra even went to the extent of claiming
that certain terrorists groups had planned to put cyanide in the
water supply in the State, without realizing that Cyanide when mixed
into water becomes harmless. While the Chief Minister aptly visits
the house of every soldier of Punjab killed in the Kargil conflict
in Kashmir, he has no time to console the bereaved families of innocent
people killed in police custody or false encounters. His govt. has
to cough out at least fifty lacs rupees in compliance of the orders
of National Human Rights Commission for killing or torturing innocent
citizens in police custody. Ironically, the murder of justice saw
no bounds in this land of saints, still no member of the jumbo ministry
of Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP, is moved at the colossal loss of numerous
lives in the State.
Mis-use of official machinery during Parliamentary elections in
the State broke records of even Beant Singh govt. Perhaps, it was
also the reason why the people rejected the Shiromani Akali Dal
during every subsequent election in the State. The popular resentment
against the ruling elite was so intense ! Looking at the overall
administration of the Akali govt. in the last four years, it is
clear that more than any other issue, the basic issues of governance,
unprecedented corruption, general deterioration in the law and order
situation, misplaced priorities etc prompted people to register
their protest against the way the business of power is being managed
by Badal family. The police acts of omission and commission are
glaring. This has exposed the government before the discerning citizenry.
People these days hate to be taken for granted. Nor do they wish
to be driven by emotional slogans of "congress-the murderer
of Sikhs". The people want a corruption free government, a
government which would seriously do something to heal their wounds
by bringing to book the police officers responsible for killing
their near and dear ones. Releasing all innocent people detained
under TADA for long, adoption of people-friendly policies and giving
a transparent governance are the burning questions which have escaped
the government's notice. Mind it, these items do not fall in the
govt.'s agenda for the moment ! The explanation of Mr.Badal after
his tragic defeat in parliamentary elections in 1999 that "people
had more expectations from his government" is a statement born
out of desperation. His claim of a government with a "mission"
and "vision" has proved to be an illusion. Viewing the
achievements of the government during the last four years, one could
aptly hold that the promotion of self-interest is the ultimate mission
of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Grab as much money as one can and prevent
every person from speaking against the wrong policies of the govt.
The opaque functioning of the government has failed to provide a
'clean', 'responsive' and 'transparent administration' in which
'corruption' has taken stronger roots and accountability is nowhere
to be found. The battered image of the present government has given
a clear message that the people are no longer vulnerable to gimcrackery.
Every Punjabi today feel let down by the failures in every organ
of administration. Mr.Badal is grossly misinformed that his guide
viz.. Atal Bihari Vajyapee and L.K.Advani would stand by him in
the hour of crisis. He must remember that nobody would be able to
sail him out of this critical situation for which he alone is responsible
and the people of the State are today prepared to write the obituary
of Shiromani Akali Dal in the coming elections at the cost of peace
and prosperity in the State. Now the real threat, which the present
government faces, is not from the rebels but from its inherent weaknesses
and inability to deliver the goods as promised. The State government
may beat the drum of crusade for peace, secularism, social justice
and development, but the time will tell whether the people still
want to be befooled.
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