Congress-led Punjab Government and the Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee (SGPC) have started a blame game accusing each other for not coming together to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.
Categorically rejecting the SGPC charges against his Government over the celebrations, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that a Group of Ministers (GoM) had already been constituted to coordinate with the religious body to finalise the historic commemorative programme.
Taking strong exception to the SGPC’s criticism against the State Government for not attending the coordination panel meeting presided over by SGPC chief on Friday, the Chief Minister said that the Cabinet Ministers — Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni — had been directed to discuss the modalities of the Prakash Purb celebrations with the SGPC.
“It is not the State Government which had shown no interest in holding a joint function, as directed by Akal Takht Sahib, but the SGPC, which had been refusing to join the State Government in celebrating the historic occasion on a common platform,” he added.
Reiterating his appeal to the SGPC to support the Government in commemorating the 550th prakash purb celebrations, Capt Amarinder once again urged the religious body’s chief to keep an open mind on the issue.
He recalled that even during his last meeting with the SGPC delegation, led by its president Gobind Singh Longowal, on August 27 at Chandigarh, he had appealed for a consensus on various issues relating to the celebrations.
Capt Amarinder also reiterated his appeal to the SGPC chief to attend the meeting of State Level Organising Committee, to be convened shortly to discuss all the prakash purb related issues through dialogue.
The Chief Minister once again extended his Government’s full support to the SGPC for the celebration of the mega event in a befitting manner.
“It is a moment that is set to be recorded in history,” he pointed out, underlining the need for all to rise above social, religious and political lines to make the celebration a collective effort.
At the same time, he urged the SGPC to demonstrate a spirit of unity and large heartedness to spread the message of universal love, religious tolerance and amity, as propagated by the first Sikh Guru.