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Sack minorities commission chief, SAD to President
Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema said Iqbal Singh Lalpura was holding a constitutional post and it was his responsibility to protect all minorities’ interests.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has urged President Droupadi Murmu to dismiss Iqbal Singh Lalpura from the post of chairperson of National Commission for Minorities alleging that he was directly interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikh community by trying to disband the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Talking to reporters here, senior party leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema said, “Lalpura was holding a constitutional post and it was his responsibility to protect the interests of minorities”.
Cheema said Lalpura has been calling up SGPC members to support Bibi Jagir Kaur for the post of president in the election of November 9. However, Bibi denied this, saying that she was not in contact with him (Lalpura). “It appears that Lalpura is only working to guard the interests of the BJP and performing the dual responsibility of being a member of the BJP’s parliamentary board and national executive,” said Cheema, adding that President can dismiss him immediately as it was a clear case of conflict of interest and he was acting against the interests of minorities, especially the Sikhs.
SAD leaders said that the recent activities of the Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities are in line with the activities of the Central and the BJP ruled state governments to take over the Sikh institutions.
“The management of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib was taken over by the Maharashtra government, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Committee was taken over by the BJP and a separate Gurdwara Committee was formed in Haryana,” said former SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal and former MLA Iqbal Singh Jhundan. According to them, now efforts are being made to break the present form of the SGPC and the first step in this direction to divide the Sikh community.
