On a day which marked completion of 300 years of the founding of the Khalsa here by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, the Akal Takht asserted itself as the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs with Bhai Ranjit Singh as the real Jathedar at a largely attended public meeting organised by supporters of the former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief. The Badal camp resorted to appeasement by announcing various developmental schemes, including the creation of a city of Anandgarh, announced by the Chief Minister himself.

Addressing thousands of listeners, Tohra demanded that Badal seek an unqualified apology from the Akal Takht and abide by its verdict. Earlier, speaking to The Indian Express, Tohrahad said that nothing short of that would do. Buoyed by the large crowds the dissidents have been attracting, Tohra said Puran Singh was a government puppet and not acceptable to any Sikh as Jathedar of the Akal Takht. ``No Sikh is ever humbled by bowing before the Akal Takht. Instead it is an honour. I myself have swept the Parikrama for 11 days in penance along with leaders of the stature of Master Tara Singh and Master Fateh Singh. Buta Singh bowed before the verdict of the Akal Takht and so did S.S. Barnala. Badal should do the same,'' said Tohra.

Among the Sikh leaders who spoke from the rebels' stage in an act of solidarity were Barnala and Simranjit Singh Mann.

The function, a cause for worry for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, may also give the Central Government something to think about, attended as it was by BSP chief Kanshi Ram and former prime minister Chandra Shekhar.

The mood of the assembled crowd was certainly jubilant. ``This was a referendum on the Badal government and it hasgone against him,'' asserted former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal.

During most of the speeches there was no hint of treason or trouble which had been anticipated after the tenor of the function held at Anandpur Sahib on Hola Mohalla. However, Simranjit Singh Mann created a flutter when he stated that he would strive for complete independence though peaceful means. ``Terrorism can no longer work in our age against the strength of the state. I will strive for `Khalistan' through peaceful and legal means, in much the same way as Jinnah won Pakistan without going to jail,'' he asserted.

Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra quickly intervened to distance the function from Mann's call. ``We are all assembled here only to advocate the supremacy of the Akal Takht. Different people here on stage have their own political agendas,'' he said.

Later, speaking to mediapersons, Tohra asserted, ``This is Mann's own programme. I am a member of the Akali Dal and I advocate the party's programme.''

The official campwas visibly nervous and embarrassed. A large number of mediapersons had been driven there to listen to Chandra Shekhar. But Shekhar boycotted the official camp and spoke from the dissidents' stage, criticising Badal for interfering with the Akal Takht.

The crowd at the official pandal was much less. Badal tried to appease people by announcing the setting up of a technical institute at Anandpur Sahib and a city of Anandgarh which, he said, would be a modern and planned city larger than Chandigarh. Rolls of honour were read out and the Order of Khalsa conferred on distinguished Sikhs of this century. These included martyrs like Baba Ram Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Ajeet Singh, Udham Singh, Bhagat Singh and many others.

Addressing the gathering, Badal said 100 years of the Khalsa could not be celebrated as the Sikhs were busy fighting the Mughals. Completion of 200 hundred years could not be celebrated because the country was under British rule. ``It is our good fortune that we are celebrating thetercentenary as it comes after Independence and the Akalis are ruling the state,'' he said.

Sikh circles have observed that such a grand celebration would not have been possible if Akalis had not been allies of the BJP government ruling at the Centre. But it remains to be seen how much of this will translate into votes for the Badal group, with the Sikh masses distinctly going the Tohra way.

Meanwhile, the Congress made its presence felt at a small public meeting addressed by Capt Amarinder Singh and Rajesh Pilot. Speaking on the occasion, Meira Kumar, MP and a member of the Congress Working Committee, said: ``The Congress apologises to the Sikhs for its mistakes in the past.'' Political observers feel that Congress may well gain some of the lost ground in Punjab, given the infighting in the Akali Dal.