Incensed over Congress-led Haryana Government's proposed move to set up a separate body for managing the Gurdwaras in the State, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have decided to fight it out.
While the SGPC has made clear its intention to knock the doors of the Punjab and Haryana High Court against Haryana Government’s move, the Akali Dal has issued a stern warning to the Congress against hatching a conspiracy to weaken the Gurdwara Committee in an attempt to take control of the Sikh’s holy shrines in Haryana.
The issue, raised by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda almost a month back while assuring the State’s Sikh population of having a separate SGPC for the State, has now snowballed into a major controversy.
The political and religious leaders, not only from Punjab and Haryana, but from other States too are coming in support or in opposition of the Haryana’s proposed move.
All eyes are now stuck on July 6 “Kaithal sammelan” organized by the Congress party where Hooda is expected to take the final decision regarding setting up separate SGPC for Haryana.
Condemning the Haryana Government’s “separatist” move, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said that the Committee will challenge it in the High Court. “SGPC will take legal action against Haryana Government's proposed move for setting up a separate body to manage affairs of Sikh shrines,” Makkar said after holding a meeting of SGPC interim committee.
He said that the SGPC will also bear the expenses that will arise in pursuing the case. Cautioning the Hooda-led Congress Government against “interfering” in the Sikhs’ “religious affairs”, the SGPC chief termed the proposed move as “anti-Sikhs” and a “threat” to the unity of the Sikh community.
Makkar maintained that the Congress has always tried to create divide among the Sikh community, “sometimes by attacking the Sikhs’ holiest shrine — Harmandir Sahib and Sikhs’ highest temporal seat — Akal Takht with Army tanks, or by organizing 1984 Sikh massacre, or by formulating laws like TADA to throttle Sikhs, or by insulting Sikhs in Haryana at the time of 1982 Asian Games”.
Coming down heavily on the Hooda Government for allegedly not granting recognition to SGPC’s medical college set up at Shahbad in Kurukshetra district for the past eight years, Makkar maintained that the SGPC has made every possible effort but owing to Haryana Government’s malafide intentions, the Rs 150 crore project is still a non-starter.
Makkar cautioned the Sikh population of Haryana of Congress’ breakaway policies and stay connected with the SGPC — known as the Sikh mini parliament. Denying allegations that the SGPC will take all the money it collect from Haryana’s Gurdwaras, Makkar said that the total income from these shrines was Rs 30 crore in 2012-13, out of which Rs 26 crore was their expenditure.
SGPC controls 70 Gurdwaras in Haryana, besides a majority in Punjab, including the Golden Temple in Amritsar, as well as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Taking the matter to the Delhi Durbar, the leaders of the SGPC and Akali Dal had met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh urging the Centre to stop Haryana Government from announcing a separate Gurdwara body.Warning the Congress against a conspiracy to weaken the SGPC by trying to create a separate Sikh body to take control of Gurudwara in Haryana, the Akali Dal on Monday said that SGPC is an apex body for the management of Sikhs shrines in India and is governed by an act of the Parliament.
The party blamed the Congress to “divide Sikhs of Haryana keeping in view the Assembly election later this year”. Punjab Education Minister and Akali Dal spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said that the Congress leaders such as Capt Amarinder Singh are adding fuel to the fire by supporting the move to create a separate body to manage Sikh shrines in Haryana.
“It has become a habit of Hooda to raise the issue for a separate Sikh body each time when election is approaching. But every time, Sikhs in Haryana had failed his evil designs to divide Sikh community,” Cheema said, adding that the SGPC had been constituted after a lot of sacrifices by the Sikh community.
As of now, the Haryana Government is studying legal and religious provisions for setting up the separate managing body for gurdwaras in the State. If the Hooda Government goes ahead with its move, then SGPC, which has a budget of over Rs 950 crore annually, will lose control over Sikh shrines in Haryana that contributes over Rs 10 crores.
Meanwhile, the Sehajdhari Sikhs, welcoming the move for legislating separate Gurdwara Committee on the demand of Haryana’s Sikhs, have sought rights in Haryana SGPC, while blaming the SAD for the birth of new committee.