Scores of protesters led by Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) staged a protest outside Congress Headquarters at 24 Akbar Road on Friday against the formation of a separate body to manage affairs of Gurdwaras in Haryana. The demonstrators’ grouse was that the formation of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) that they claimed was a “conspiracy” by Congress to “divide” the Sikh community. Delhi Police had made arrangements to prevent the protesters from entering the premises of the Congress office. When the protesters were stopped at the barricade, they tried to break free and it was here police resorted to water canons to disperse them.
The protest was a token one as some 60-70 protesters were detained by the New Delhi district police and were later allowed to go. It may recalled that the Haryana assembly had on July 11 passed a Bill for creation of Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (HSGPC) which was given “assent” by state governor on July 14.
According to the Bill, a committee namely Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee will be established for proper management and control of the Gurdwaras and their properties within the State. The committee with 40 members will be elected for a five-year term by Sikh voters of Haryana. It will have its head office at Kurukshetra and regional offices at Panchkula and Jind.
Congress had promised formation of a separate SGPC in its poll manifesto in 2005, but it could not happen during Hooda’s first term and was taken up during his second term. The next Assembly elections are due in Haryana in October this year. With the Bill becoming an Act, the provisions of Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925 would cease to have any application within the territory of Haryana, the Bill mentions.