The committee constituted by the Punjab government for holding negotiations with the Bargari Insaaf Morcha leaders on Wednesday claimed that only the chief minister can meet their demands as it does not have the mandate to do the needful.
The panel comprising cabinet ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and MLAs Harminder Singh Gill, Kulbir Singh Zira and Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon had approached the morcha in December 2018, announcing that the government had accepted all their demands.
On this, Akal Takht parallel acting jathedar and morcha head Dhian Singh Mand had announced to end the six-month protest at Bargari village of Faridkot district where the Guru Granth Sahib was desecrated.
Mand, who had “summoned” the committee to the Akal Takht on Monday, has accused the state government of deceiving them. The panel members did not appear before him.
In a two-page open letter to Mand, the committee members wrote, “Ensuring punishment to the culprits of the sacrilege and police firing incidents is the job of the state home department which is under the chief minister. Therefore, only he has full information of the progress in the case.”
They added, “The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), managements of Takht Patna Sahib and Takht Hazur Sahib and other elected Sikh bodies do not recognise you as the Akal Takht jathedar. In such a situation, there is a likelihood of SGPC employees clashing with you if you hold a meeting there.”
{{/usCountry}}They added, “The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), managements of Takht Patna Sahib and Takht Hazur Sahib and other elected Sikh bodies do not recognise you as the Akal Takht jathedar. In such a situation, there is a likelihood of SGPC employees clashing with you if you hold a meeting there.”
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