Kabran di shanti (Peace of the graveyard) is what the Congress has brought to Punjab, says Bhushan, a major poet and writer of the state. A liberal, Bhushan teaches Punjabi at the government college, Ropar. Though he doesnt have any political affiliations, Bhushan is happy that the Akalis and the BJP have come together. He predicts the combine will win a comfortable, if not landslide, victory.
His feelings reflect the general mood in the state. Sushma Swaraj, spokesperson of the BJP and the convener of the joint Akali-BJP election campaign in Punjab, argues: Today in Punjab, the mood is upbeat in favour of the Akali-BJP alliance and there is visible demoralisation in the ruling Congress camp. The message is loud and clear. We will win hands down.
Interestingly, the combine is perceived as secular. Says Bhushan: To describe the Akalis and the BJP as communal will amount to agree with the Congress. Even if one agrees with the Congress description that the Akalis and the BJP are communal, when two communal forces come together, they cease to be communal. Power makes them secular. People are of the opinion that the Akalis and the BJP together will bring real and the lasting peace to Punjab. Bhushan says corruption is a major issue against the ruling party. According to him, other political parties and groups, including the Bahujan Samaj Party, the leftists and Akali hardliners led by Simranjit Singh Mann do not stand any chance.
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Knowing this, the Akali-BJP juggernaut has squarely targeted the Congress. Madan Lal Khurana, former Chief Minister of Delhi and all-India vice-president of the BJP is scathing in his criticism of the Congress. Blaming the party for the birth and rise of terrorism in Punjab, he accuses Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and the Punjab PCC president Santokh Singh Randhawa of links with terrorists. But what about the Alkalis, who too had links with terrorists? Khurana is silent on this.
Political observers explain that there is a clear shift in the political line of the Punjab BJP during the past couple of years, with the return of peace and normalcy. The Punjab BJP, during the hey days of Bhindranwale and terrorism, used to be unsparing in attacking both the Congress and the Akalis, accusing both of aiding and abetting terrorism.
But things have changed now. Says Swaraj: The Akali-BJP is a natural alliance. We have been together in the past too. The Akalis and the then Jansangh first came together in Punjab in 1967, then again in 1977 and now again in 1997. The Akali-BJP alliance will further strengthen Punjabi unity. Interestingly, even Gurcharan Singh Tohra, once an Akali hardliner and president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee, who used to be a bitter critic of the BJP, has changed his political thinking. He is almost lyrical in his praise of the BJP when he says: The BJP has done a lot at the national level and particularly in Delhi to restore the image of the Sikhs in the country. We are grateful to the BJP. The Congress had left no stone unturned to tarnish the image of the Sikhs all over the country, particularly after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
At one stage during the eighties, when Bhindranwale, the founding father of terrorism in Punjab was at his peak, Tohra was his known supporter and sympathiser. But not any more. The turning point in Tohras politics came after he was grievously wounded and nearly escaped death in an attack on his life by Punjab terrorists about seven years ago. Today he does not mince words in condemning the terrorists. He says: The language of the gun has failed everywhere. It does not work. We are for peace and democratic struggle to press for our rights.
What about the controversial Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which not only talks of more powers for states but according to the critics, also contains seeds of seperatism and the dream called a seperate Sikh state to be named Khalistan? Both Parkash Singh Badal, the Akali Dal Supremo and Surjit Singh Barnala, another former Akali Chief Minister and one of the brain behinds the drafting of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, still stand by their partys commitment to press the Centre for the acceptance of all demands contained in the resolution.
But the BJP has categorically rejected the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as declared by Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a press conference in Jalandhar a few days back.
Interestingly, the Common Minimum Programme of the Akali Dal and the BJP released last week has no reference to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.