Haryana: Cong cocktail of politics and religion leaves Sikh body livid

Desperate to find new vote banks after its disastrous performance in the general elections, the Congress government in Haryana is actively considering the creation of a Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in the state which would match the original at Amritsar in Punjab in prominence. The proposed move has left the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the Sikh community, livid. If the new SGPC materialises it would leave the community divided. The Sikh community in Haryana, backed by the Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, seems determined to go ahead with the plan of creating a separate SGPC in the state. While the Amritsar-based SGPC and the Akal Takht see it as a politically motivated game, the Sikh leaders in Haryana say that a separate Gurdwara committee is necessary for the empowerment of the Sikh community in the state. [caption id=“attachment_1603497” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Furious over the proposed move, the Akal Takht has warned that it would take stern action against the Sikh leaders who are found involved in the creation of a separate SGPC in Haryana. “The Takht would take action against those trying to weaken the SGPC,” warned Gurbachan Singh, Akal Takht Jathedar. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar also hit out at the move. “It is not a demand of the Sikh masses. The motive of the move is drawn from vested interest of people. It is a political move to divide the Sikh community. It is necessary to have one supreme national body with members from all states to work unitedly for the community. What is happening now is not religious. It is political,” said Makkar. On the other hand the Sikh leaders in Haryana, led by Didar Singh Nalvi, ad-hoc president of the Haryana SGPC and Jagdish Singh Jhinda, senior leader, are determined to go ahead with the move. They have been raising the demand for close to a decade. There is no denying the fact that the move for a separate SGPC is politically motivated. The SGPC is controlled by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of Punjab which is not ready to brook any interference in its dominance. But the Hooda-led Haryana Congress sees the ongoing move as a golden opportunity to garner Sikh votes in order to lay claim to power for the third consecutive term in the state. There are around 15 lakh members of the community in the state. Now all eyes are riveted on the all important Sikh Convention called by the ad hoc Haryana SGPC at Kaithal on 6 July in the presence of the Haryana chief minister and senior Congress ministers. Hooda is likely to announce in the convention a separate Gurdwara Management Committee for Haryana, despite strong objection from his Punjab counterpart, Parkash Singh Badal. After announcement of a separate SGPC for Haryana, the state government will have to call a assembly session immediately to pass a resolution in this regard to give it legal validity. According to Nalvi, the Sikh communty in Haryana is looking forward to the momentous occasion when a separate SGPC committee is created. “We plan to give a memorandum to the chief minister in this regard at the Kaithal convention on 6 July and the proposal is likely to be accepted on the spot. We will be able to fulfill our long pending demand then," he says. Senior SGPC leader from Haryana, Jagdish Singh Jhinda said the law guarantees separate SGPC panel for Haryana and it is going to become a reality now. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar denies any discrimination against Sikhs in Haryana. “We are running a number of schools and colleges in Haryana. It is a wrong impression that the creation of Haryana state SGPC (HSGPC) will empower the Sikh community in the state. In fact it would be weakened with the division of the SGPC,” says Makkar. Meanwhile, SGPC member and senior vice president of Shiromani Akali Dal, Bhupinder Singh Assandh, has revolted against the party on the SGPC issue. Hitting out at Makkar, Assandh has said he is playing with the emotions of the Sikh community in Haryana. “Makkar is playing into the hands of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. I support and demand a separate gurdwara committee of the SGPC in Haryana,” said Assandh.