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Akali Dal tells PM to take back Khurana

The Akali Dal today asked Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to re-admit senior BJP leader Madanlal Khurana in his government, saying the former Union minister was a ''bridge between the BJP and the Akalis''.

In a letter to the prime minister, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Akali Dal chief whip in Parliament, said Khurana had emerged as a ''symbol of Hindu-Sikh unity'' which led to an alliance between the two parties. The success of the alliance resulted in a landslide victory in Punjab assembly elections and installation of an Akali Dal-BJP government.

Hailing the positive role of Khurana during and post-1984 anti-Sikh riots, Chandumajra said by raising his voice against brutalities against the minorities, he helped their integration with the BJP at the political level.

The acceptance of Khurana's resignation had sent a wrong message to the minorities, who now felt the BJP was not interested in carrying the minorities with it, the letter said.

The concern for minorities raised by Khurana ''can't be faulted and we fail to understand why his resignation was accepted on this issue,'' Chandumajra said.

All India Akali Dal general secretary Paramjit Singh Sarna, who circulated copies of the letter to the press, said it was ''unfortunate'' that the BJP leadership had been ''ignoring and humiliating'' a senior leader like Khurana who had played a vital role in bringing Sikhs and non-Sikh Punjabis on a common platform in Delhi and Punjab. Because of this, the party was able to form a government in Delhi in 1993. When the party lost the sight of Khurana's role, it lost badly in the recent assembly elections in Delhi, he added.

Earlier, Samata Party leader Abdul Ghafoor, MP, also sent a similar letter to the prime minister hailing Khurana for raising the cause of minorities.

Both Chandumajra and Ghafoor have sought an audience with the prime minister on this issue.

UNI

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