Haryana Assembly session likely to be stormy

The monsoon session of Haryana Assembly, which begins on Friday here, is likely to be stormy as main Opposition INLD has said it will oppose any move of the ruling Congress to create a separate SGPC for the state.

The monsoon session of Haryana Assembly, which begins on Friday here, is likely to be stormy as main Opposition INLD has said it will oppose any move of the ruling Congress to create a separate SGPC for the state.

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Apart from former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD, BJP too is opposing the move to carve out a separate SGPC.

The bill to form a separate SGPC will be introduced in the Assembly session commencing here from July 11 and the separate body will be set up as a legal entity, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said.

The opposition parties have claimed that Congress is eyeing Sikh votes as Haryana goes to poll in October.

INLD's senior leader and state unit chief Ashok Arora claimed that the Congress, after receiving a drubbing in the parliamentary polls, was staring at another defeat in the upcoming Assembly polls and was now trying to "divide" the Sikhs for "narrow" political gains.

The state unit of the BJP has also criticised the Congress for "meddling" in the religious affairs of the Sikhs.

Yielding to "long-pending demand of Sikhs", Hooda announced a separate SGPC for his state, drawing flak from INLD, BJP, Amritsar-based SGPC, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and other political and religious outfits.

At a function organised by Sikh leaders from Haryana at Kaithal on Sunday, Hooda had said a separate SGPC will be set up keeping in view the sentiments and aspirations of the Sikhs in his state and a law will be enacted to form the separate panel.