Capt govt conspiring to weaken Sikh institutions, says Sukhbir
CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday accused the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government of conspiring to weaken Sikh institutions, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), by supporting the idea of a separate gurdwara body for Haryana.
Addressing the media outside the Raj Bhawan, Sukhbir said during the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government’s regime, an attempt was made to interfere in Sikh affairs. “But then prime minister Manmohan Singh assured us that no such an attempt would be entertained as he understood the sensitivity of the matter because his ancestors had also made great sacrifices for the establishment of the SGPC — a Sikh body for the management of Sikh shrines. Later, Manmohan showed his helplessness as Sonia Gandhi decided to constitute a separate Sikh body for Haryana,” said the SAD chief.
Earlier, a joint delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab, led by Sukhbir Singh Badal and Madan Mohan Mittal met governor VP Singh Badnore and requested him to direct the state government to immediately withdraw the affidavit filed by it in the Supreme Court saying that it has no objection to a separate Sikh gurdwara body in Haryana.
The delegation also demanded a high-level judicial inquiry to expose the “conspiracy of the Congress government to jeopardize the interest of the Sikh community and the apex body for the management of Sikh shrines”.
The joint delegation also urged the Punjab governor to direct the state to immediately register a criminal case against minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar, adviser Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon and Manjinder Singh Dhillon for causing death to former sarpanch Surjit Singh, who was a prime witness in the Behbal Kalan firing incident.