Sticking to its stand to continue with the Takht Jathedars, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) on Thursday made it clear that there was no question of removal or replacement of any jathedar.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said that maintaining the Supremacy of the Akal Takht was the prime object of SGPC and there was no reason to discuss the removal of any Takht Jathedar.
Having chaired the meeting of SGPC Executive Committee in Chandigarh, Makkar said that committee meet focused mainly on the routine agenda.
The committee hailed the decision of Punjab government to increase the sentence for guilty of sacrilege from 3 years to life imprisonment. The decision would fill a sense of fear into the minds of impish people who tend to hurt religious sentiments of others, informed Makkar. “More efforts by the government were required to keep a complete check on such despicable acts,” he added.
Exhorting Sikh Sangat to be more vigilant against the Secessionist and radical forces, Makkar said that Theekri Pehras should be organized to keep a check on perverts.
Giving details of the other decisions of the meeting, Makkar said that to prevent any kind of disregard to the sacred Guru Granth Sahib or the devotional sentiments of people, SGPC has decided to install CCTV cameras in all the Gurdwaras managed by the committee.
He said that the state would be divided into 5 zones and the work of installing CCTV cameras would be undertaken one by one in all the zones.
SGPC has decided to make a provision of 500 rooms for the pilgrims at Anandpur Sahib. The proposal for construction of the rooms has been approved, said Makkar. To facilitate Sikh Sangat for religious traveling, SGPC has also decided to add 8 new buses into its fleet.
Makkar said that Committee had approved a hike of 8 % in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of the SGPC employees which will benefit more than 10 thousand employees.