Under attack for the non-fulfillment of assurances made to end the ‘Bargari Insaaf Morcha’ protests over the 2015 sacrilege and the subsequent police firing incidents, Punjab’s two Cabinet Ministers and three Congress legislators have pushed the ball in the Chief Minister’s court for the same.

“We have written a letter to explain our stand. We have made it clear that any clarification or explanation regarding the assurances made at that time should be sought from the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh as we had only conveyed to the protesting religious leaders at the Morcha what the Chief Minister had asked us to do,” said Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Randhawa, along with Rural Development and Panchayats Department Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, and three Congress MLAs — Harminder Singh Gill, Kulbir Singh Zira, and Kushaldeep Singh Kiki Dhillon, was summoned by the ‘parallel’ acting Jathedar of Akal Takht Dhian Singh Mand to appear before the Akal Takht on August 2. As the leaders failed to appear, Mand had again summoned them on August 11 at Akal Takht, while warning that in case they overlook it again, they would be liable to face religious punishment.

Mand, the main leader of Bargari Insaaf Morcha, had summoned five Congress leaders to explain as to why the promises made to end the ‘Bargari Morcha’ protests were as yet unfulfilled.

At the time of issuing summons, Mand had stated that these five Congress leaders had “assured us to fulfill all of our demands, including taking action against the persons responsible for sacrilege incidents and firing upon innocent Sikhs at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, apart from the release of Sikh political prisoners”.

The parallel jathedar was “elected” during an unofficial Sikhs gathering or ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ at Chabba village near Amritsar on November 10, 2015. During the gathering, Jagtar Singh Hawara — behind bars for assassinating the former Chief Minister Beant Singh — was appointed as parallel jathedar of Akal Takht and Dhian Singh Mand was announced as the officiating jathedar.

Notably, after the Congress leaders’ assurances, the 192 days old Bargari Insaaf Morcha was ended on December 9, 2018.

The five Congress leaders, in a joint letter to Bargari Insaaf Morcha’s “former dictator” Dhian Singh Mand, stated that they acted as “link” between the Morcha and the state’s Chief Minister, and any assurance that they had given to the Morcha was on the behalf of the Chief Minister only.

“It is the duty of the state’s Home and Police Departments to punish the guilty for the sacrilege and the subsequent police firing incidents, which comes under the direct control of the Chief Minister. So, all the details regarding the progress of these cases can be sought from the Chief Minister,” read the letter.

Besides, the leaders pointed that even though they had been acting as a link between the Government and the Morcha at that time, but “we have also learnt that you (referring to Mand) were also in direct contact with the Chief Minister through some police and civil officers. Your close associate Baljit Singh Daduwal had several times, in public, mentioned that you had directly talked with the Chief Minister before ending the Morcha”.

With the Chief Minister already under pressure, from outside and also within the party, to ensure that guilty of sacrilege and related police firing incidents be punished, the letter would further put Capt Amarinder Singh in the dock.

Punishing the guilty of sacrilege and related firing incidents was the major poll promise of the Congress party in 2017 polls, and with the same yet to be fulfilled, the party leaders have been building up pressure against their own government and the Chief Minister.