E-Paper
Akal Takht jathedar shrugs off invitation to Ayodhya bhoomi pujan
When asked if he would be attending the event on August 5, the jathedar said, “I have not read this invitation.” When told that the contents of the invitation had been published in the newspapers, he said, “I have not read the newspapers.”
Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Tuesday shrugged off the invite to the bhoomi pujan of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The invitation, sent by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, was delivered by the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, the Sikh wing of pro-Hindutva organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Monday afternoon.
When asked if he would be attending the event on August 5, the jathedar said, “I have not read this invitation.” When told that the contents of the invitation had been published in the newspapers, he said, “I have not read the newspapers.”
Many are seeing his response as an indication that he won’t go to the event.
Rashtriya Sikh Sangat general secretary Sandeep Singh, who delivered the invite, said, “Though we gave the invite on Monday, our national president had sent it to him on Whatsapp two or three days ago. We can only request his presence. It’s up to him to attend or not,” he added.
Notably, the trust planned to ensure the presence of jathedars of all five Sikh Takhts at the event. However, there is no possibility of attendance of the jathedars as a considerable section of the Sikh community is against it.
In October 2019, Giani Harpreet Singh had demanded a ban on the RSS while terming the ‘Hindu Rashtra’ statement of its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, divisive.
