Badal wooing Ravidassia sants

[Nalwa]

JALANDHAR: Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is now making all out efforts to woo religious leaders of Adi-dharmi community. Two days after foundation laying of an ayurvedic university in the name of Guru Ravidass, he held a meeting with Ravidassia sants at Chandigarh on Tuesday and issued directions to provide a plot of land at Anandpur Sahib for a dharamsala.

It is learnt that he is reaching out to a section of Ravidassia sants to counter Dera Ballan's influence on Adi-dharmi voters. Elements of alienation has been prevailing in the Dera and its followers after SAD government thwarted a move by dera protagonists to replace Guru Granth Sahib with Amrit Bani Granth in community shrines.

The delegation of Rvidassia sants was headed by Sri Guru Ravidass Sadhu Sampardai Society president Sant Nirmal Dass. Though it was officially termed as a thanksgiving visit by the sants to express their gratitude to the CM for naming the upcoming university in the name of Guru Ravidass, sources privy to the developments revealed that the CM had extended an invitation to the sants to visit him to discuss their issues when he met them at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the university in Hoshiarpur.

It is learnt though Sadhu Sampardai Society had already dumped Dera Ballanas move to announce separate religion with a separate granth, yet, they were nursing a few grouses including that of a community shrine in village Dansiwal of district Hoshiarpur where there a dispute has been simmering for the last several months over installation of Nishan Sahib (flag with insignia).

Only three weeks back, Radha Soami Dera head Baba Gurinder Singh had attended a function organized by Sant Nirmal Dass at his dera on September 21 and the move was expected to have political implications. The Ravidassia sants demanded to open an ITI in the name of Guru Ravidass in village Chooharwali in district Jalandhar, to which Badal responded positively.

However, SAD and BJP leaders of Ad-dharmi community are finding themselves in a catch-22 situation as siding with Sadhu Sampardai Society may annoy Dera Ballan or vice versa. asSituation for them is like a tightrope walk to meet both sides without alienating any,a? said a SC leader from the ruling alliance.

[gurdeepsinghjohal]

People are making political movements on the name religion.