In his first visit to the holy city of Amritsar after being appointed president of Haryana SGPC, Jagdish Singh Jhinda along with 34 members of the newly-formed ad hoc committee on Monday paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.
Talking to mediapersons after the visit, he said, “Peace, religious harmony and sanctity of Sikh religion has to be followed strictly and nobody would be allowed to disturb the sanctity of any gurdwara in Haryana”.
Asked when the new committee would take charge and possession of gurdwaras in Haryana in the wake of forming of HSGPC in the State, Jhinda said his executive was not in haste as legal procedure and other mandatory religious formalities are to be followed. At present, the gurdwaras in the State are still under the control of Amritsar-based SGPC and several armed Nihangs are keeping a vigil in the Haryana gurdwaras.
Jhinda said he would soon write to SGPC, SAD chief patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Jathedar Akal Takht to hand over the charge of all Haryana-based Gurdwaras to newly-formed Haryana body besides withdrawing the task force of SGPC from the shrines.
Meanwhile, Jhinda was not allowed to go inside the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of the Sikhs, which has ex-communicated him and two others from the community, including Haryana Finance Minister HS Chattha, recently. Jhinda paid obeisance from a distance to Akal Takht.
According to customs, ex-communicated Sikhs are not allowed to visit Akal Takht till the time they are pardoned by the Takht. Jhinda was ex-communicated for not adhering to summons from the Akal Takht after the controversy on separate gurdwaras for Haryana Sikhs cropped up.
Continuing with its directives, Akal Takht on Sunday had ordered status quo and restrained from functioning the newly-elected office bearers of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
Asked about his excommunication from Sikh fold by Akal Takht, Jhinda said, today’s visit to Golden Temple was with the sole motive to offer thanks to Waheguru (Almighty) to fulfil desire of separate HSGMC for Haryana- based Sikh community and would not prefer to talk on the issue of ex-communication.
Jhinda and another Haryana Sikh leader Didar Singh Nalvi who spearheaded the movement for the formation of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for Haryana were Saturday elected president and senior vice president respectively of the newly-notified HSGPC.
Haryana Assembly at its session on July 11 had passed the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Bill 2014 to which the outgoing Governor Jagannath Pahadia gave his assent on July 14 despite opposition from SGPC and the Akali leaders from Punjab.
later, the State Government constituted a 41-member ad hoc Committee which would remain in place till the time elections to the HSGPC are not held.