Describing the Supreme Court verdict recognizing the validity of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014 as an attack on the ‘panth’, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said that it had caused deep resentment amongst the community worldwide.
Sukhbir said that it was extremely unfortunate that the SGPC, which was an inter-State body, had been bifurcated by recognizing a State legislation even though the power to make law on this issue was reserved with the Centre.
“The Congress party had been trying for decades to weaken the SAD as well as Sikh institutions and the 2014 Act forming a separate body to manage gurdwaras in Haryana was part of this strategy. It is equally condemnable that the Punjab Government, under Capt Amarinder Singh, had taken an anti-SGPC stance in the Apex Court in this case…The last nail was hammered in by the Bhagwant Singh Mann government whose Advocate-General gave a written submission against the SGPC in the case,” he said.
Asserting that the SAD would not tolerate tinkering of a 100-year-old Act, Sukhbir said: “The party has called a meeting of senior leaders to decide on the next course of action which could include legal recourse”. He also appealed to all panthic organizations to unite to defeat the designs of anti-Sikh forces to divide the Sikh community and rule by proxy.