Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has decided to go ahead with the memorial construction to commemorate those killed during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as planned. The memorial has been planned in the same complex, adjacent to Parliament House.
DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK on Saturday announced that there will be no change in the schedule for foundation laying ceremony of 1984 Sikh genocide memorial on Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib complex. "There is no violation of any building norms. So the Delhi Government or any other authority in Delhi has no right to raise objection to our peaceful endeavour. We are not going to construct any building in Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib. A memorial is a memorial. It can be a pillar or a platform to perpetuate the memory of those lost their lives in anti-Sikh riots in 1984 that followed after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi," said Manjit Singh GK, adding that they are not going to derive any political mileage.
"The main objective behind this memorial is to provide a place for the bereaved families and pay respect to their dead," he said. The memorial, according to him, would be dedicated to the Sikh Panth before the completion of 30 years of the carnage and would be would be symbol of peace, humanity, humility and compassion.
Manjit Singh GK was reacting to the objection to the memorial raised by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on June 7 by pasting a notice on the gate of the Gurdwara complex. In the notice it was said that any illegal construction was not permitted inside the gurdwara complex. It also raised objection on three feet wide and four feet high wall constructed for foundation stone ceremony.
Speaking on the issue DSGMC general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that DSGMC would make no violation and would stick to the byelaws. "We have already announced that height of the memorial would not be more than 22 feet, norms fixed in the area due to security reasons," adds Sirsa.