HSGPC tiff: Will an indecisive Modi govt cost BJP the Haryana polls?

The Congress may be finding itself in a losing position in most states like Maharashtra, Assam and Delhi politically, but it seems to have put the ruling NDA in a bind over the new Haryana Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) Bill being passed in the state. NDA ally and Punjab Government led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) controlled by them in Amritsar has locked horns with Bhupinder Singh Hooda led Congress government in Haryana over the creation of this new body, HSGPC. It was on 11th June that Haryana assembly passed this Bill that will form a new and separate committee to manage Gurdwaras (Sikh shrines) in Haryana. If this Act comes into effect, it would mean the end of SAD hegemony over the 72 Gurudwaras in Haryana that account for nearly Rs 105 crores out of the Rs 950 crores to the Committee annually. The ruling NDA dispensation initially showed reluctance to get involved into this controversy, but had to step in when Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal threatened to resign if the HSGPC Bill comes into effect. Governor Jagannath Pahadia had given his assent to the bill on 11th June before he demitted office this Saturday. Now BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, Kaptan Singh Solanki will take charge on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_1636761” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representational purposes only. AFP.[/caption] The 75 year old will have to deal with the raging issue right from day one over whether the HSGPC Bill can be enacted in the state or not. Modi government asking Haryana Governor to withdraw his consent to the Bill drew instant criticism from the Congress. “Akali Dal was the one that had launched the agitation for a separate Gurdwara Act for Delhi, now they are complaining,” says Punjab Congress Chief Partap Singh Bajwa. “They are the reason why Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee was formed in 1971. The Sikhs in Haryana are just following their example,” he counters. The BJP fancies its chances of forming the government in Haryana on its own, and is in no mood to interfere directly between the two warring sides. With Congress and INLD fighting with each other over the dominant Jat vote in the state, BJP is hoping to cash in on the remaining non Jat vote that forms almost half the electorate. This vote includes approximately 18 lakh Sikhs who are found mostly in Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala. Realizing that the BJP is in a catch 22 situation, the Congress remains defiant that it will not back down on the new legislation that would empower Sikhs of Haryana. “Union Home Ministry’s letter to Chief Secretary, Haryana that Governor should withdraw his assent to the Bill, is an affront to the country’s federal structure and competence of the state” claims Randeep Surjewala, Senior Minister in Haryana and National Spokesperson, Congress. “We condemn this as an unwarranted interference and gross disrespect of 2.5 crore people of Haryana and Sikhs that they cannot manage their affairs on their own,” he adds. With the ruling party in no mood to budge from its position, the SAD is pulling all stops to ensure the HSGPC Bill doesn’t get Constitutional assent. A petition challenging the Bill has already been moved in the Punjab and Haryana High Court last Friday where it has been termed as “unconstitutional”. Haryana’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Surjewala has also written to the Centre citing Section 72 of the Punjab reorganization Act, 1966 in which states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and union territory of Chandigarh were carved with clear cut divisions of institutions. “Section 72 (1) and (3) of the 1966 Act clearly states that the Government of Haryana has the right to carve out a separate body to manage Sikh religious shrines under its jurisdiction” asserts Randeep Surjewala. “Provisions of Section 72 also apply to Part III of the Sikh Gurudwaras Act, 1925 to remove any kind of confusion on the rights if state of Haryana” says a confident Surjewala. That leaves little option for the Modi government except to take the Presidential Reference route where the President refers it to the Supreme Court asking it for advice on the issue. The Congress hopes that this issue will put the ruling BJP at the Centre in an uneasy position. So much so that even the Aam Admi Party has come out in support of the HSGPC. “The SGPC is being run as a private limited company by the Badals,” says Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP. “It is best to delink the shrines of Haryana from Punjab and let each state manage their own affairs,” he says. The Congress seems to be sitting pretty over the issue as they watch the BJP walk the tightrope, between a bright future in Haryana or discord with one of their oldest political allies in the country.