Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and union home minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Tuesday to seek an immediate session of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to avert a financial crisis in the 'mini parliament of Sikhs'.
The chief minister informed Singh and Chidambaram that the maiden session of the SGPC was significant as the election of its office-bearers was essential to facilitate the committee's functioning, a Punjab government spokesman said here.
The management of the gurdwaras would also be difficult in the absence of the budgetary provisions of the SGPC, Badal told the central leaders.
The chief minister also called on union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, demanding that roads to every village in Punjab be upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
Interacting with reporters after the meetings, Badal said, "Sikhs are enraged over the unnecessary meddling by the Congress in religious affairs of the community."
He, however, said that the prime minister and the union home minister had assured him that the demand for the SGPC session would be met.
On the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Badal said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was opposed to the move as "it infringes on the rights of the states". "The NCTC has been designed by the Centre to usurp the powers of state governments and this cannot be tolerated," he added.
{{/usCountry}}On the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Badal said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was opposed to the move as "it infringes on the rights of the states". "The NCTC has been designed by the Centre to usurp the powers of state governments and this cannot be tolerated," he added.
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