Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Act: SGPC asks members to make Sikh community aware on SC decision

It’s a combined attack by Congress, BJP and AAP to divide Sikh community. SAD is ready to take up the issue in court besides protesting the move democratically: Sukhbir Singh Badal

Sukhbir Badal says combined attack by Congress, BJP and AAP to divide community

SGPC has directed its members to mobilise the Sikh community in the state by informing them about the recent apex court verdict and its consequences. (HT file photo)

After opposing the Supreme Court verdict- upholding the validity of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Act 2014- Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has directed its members to mobilise the Sikh community in the state by informing them about the recent apex court verdict and its consequences.

The SGPC has also called a special emergency meeting on September 30 at Teja Singh Samundri Hall near Golden Temple in Amritsar to discuss the next course of action following the Supreme Court verdict.

Confirming the development, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said a meeting of SGPC members from Punjab and Haryana was held at Gurudwara Sri Manji Sahib in Alamgir Near Ludhiana on Monday where a resolution was passed to oppose the supreme court verdict.

“We are holding a special emergency meeting on Friday wherein SGPC members and those from opposite factions, besides SAD leaders and halka in charge, have been invited to deliberate over formulation of protest. We held the meeting today to spread our resolution- to oppose the Apex court verdict- to each village and house in the Punjab,” said Dhami.

The SGPC members led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, former SGPC presidents Gobind Singh Longowal, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Kirpal Singh Badungar, executive member Jagbir Singh Soki and former cabinet minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Daljeet Singh Cheema and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon also joined the meeting.

Badal while addressing the SGPC member said the Khalsa Panth would fight tooth and nail to defeat the deep-rooted conspiracy to break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Badal described the validation given to the Haryana Committee as a direct attack on the Sikh Panth. “The time has come to prepare ourselves for a sustained agitation to reclaim our just rights”, he told the members. He blamed Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for attempting to divide the community by breaking SGPC. “It was the Congress government led by the then CM Hooda who had presented the act. The erstwhile Congress government of Captain Amarinder Singh (now BJP leader) and the present AAP government led by Bhagwant Mann had taken an anti - SGPC stand in court,” said Badal.

He said the BJP led central government was also working to weaken the SGPC and that it had even taken over the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) as part of this strategy.

Asserting that the SAD was ready to take up the issue in court besides protesting the move democratically, Badal said the final shape to the ‘Sangharsh’ would be given following an emergency meeting of the general house of the SGPC on September 30.

Maheshinder Singh Grewal the party will vociferously oppose the RSS sponsored plan being executed by the government of India to divide the Sikh community and to damage the established Sikh institutions. Bibi Jagir Kaur, Gobind Singh Longowal, Kirpal Singh Badungar and Raghujit Singh Virk also addressed the meeting.