Chandigarh
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday postponed a meeting with representatives of several Sikh organisations on the Anand Marriage Act, 2016.
The state government had called the meeting on Tuesday for a discussion on steps to simplify the registration of marriages under the Anand Marriage Act and the amendments needed to enhance the scope of the law.
Rajya Sabha member Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, jathedar Baljit Singh Daduwal, Balbir Singh of Buddha Dal, Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale, Sarbjot Singh Bedi, Darshan S Shastri, Prof Manjit Nijjar of the law department, Punjabi University, and Sukhdayal Singh were invited to attend the meeting, but it was postponed at the last minute.
When contacted, Daduwal said the chief minister had called the meeting to seek the views of various Sikh organisations and scholars on amendments needed in the Anand Marriage Act. “The CM had called eight of us, but I had a talk with him over the phone in the morning on the need to invite representatives of the SGPC, Delhi committee, Patna Sahib, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, Tarlochan Singh Ji, etc for wider consultation to build consensus. The CM agreed immediately and postponed the meeting. We will suggest more names,” he said.
No new date has been decided for the meeting.
{{/usCountry}}No new date has been decided for the meeting.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal said it rejects totally and ab initio the meeting convened by the CM. In a statement, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party regarded the meeting as the state government’s brazen arrogance in arrogating to itself the right to represent the Sikh community in any matter relating to religious faith, Sikh maryada, Sikh practices and the Sikh way of life, including Anand Karaj.
“The meeting called ostensibly to recommend amendments to Anand Marriage Act is part of a continuing deep-rooted conspiracy to spread confusion among the Sikhs,” he alleged.