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Will oppose PCOCA, says SGPC president
Gurdwara body calls General House on Nov 29 to elect its new president and office-bearers
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Kirpal Singh Badungar on Monday said the SGPC will oppose the enactment of the Punjab Control of Organised Crime Act (PCOCA) by the Congress government in the state, saying such laws are always used against minorities.
Talking to mediapersons here, he said a decision in this regard was taken in a meeting of the SGPC executive committee held at the Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib here.
Badungar said the SGPC will oppose PCOCA, as it suspects the purpose of the proposed law. “This law will create problem for Sikhs, who are a minority. History shows that such laws, including TADA, were misused against minorities, especially Sikhs,” he said.
Badungar said, “The SGPC will write to the chief minister about it (PCOCA), will meet him, and if need be, will move the court to oppose the law.”
He added that there is no need of enacting a new law, but the need of the hour is to enforce the existing laws to check the rising crime.
General House
The executive also decided to call a General House of the SGPC on November 29 to elect a new executive and office-bearers, including the president.
The executive and office-bearers, as per norms, are chosen by the General House. However, it is an open secret that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which controls the gurdwara body, and party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal decide the names of the president and office-bearers.
Meanwhile, sources said Badungar, who was elected as the SGPC president last year, is likely to retain his post, though some of his detractors are trying to get him ousted.
The Monday’s meeting of the executive also decided to display pictures of anti-Sikh 1984 riots in the picture gallery at the Golden Temple complex to showcase the atrocities faced by the community. A book on the riots will also be published by the SGPC, Badungar said.
