Thaindian News

Amritsar, April 13 (IANS) Delhi based journalist Jarnail Singh who tossed a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram at a press conference in New Delhi April 7, Monday declined a job offer made to him by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee during a ceremony here.
The journalist was honoured by the SGPC at Golden Temple complex here for highlighting the plight of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

Avtar Singh Makkar, president of the SGPC, also held a closed-door 10-minute meeting with Jarnail Singh after honouring him. It was during this meeting that the SGPC chief made the job offer to Singh but he politely declined it.

“I am thankful for this honour. A job offer was made but I have declined the same. I have not heard anything regarding any action against me by my present employers,” Singh told media here.

The shoe-throwing incident catapulted Singh into a Sikh icon with several offers to honour him. His employers, Hindi newspaper group Dainik Jagran, apologised for his action and said it will take disciplinary action against him.

The SGPC, mini-parliament of the Sikh religion with an annual budget of Rs.4.48 billion (Rs.448 crore), had offered to give him a job and look after his family if he was fired by his employer after the shoe-throwing incident.

Singh flung his shoe at Chidambaram at the Congress headquarters to protest the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

“At that time I could not control my emotions as I was not satisfied with the minister’s answer to my question,” Singh told reporters here.

He accompanied by his wife and two children later offered prayers at the Golden Temple.