Thaindian News

Chandigarh, July 31 (IANS) The controversy over having a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) for Haryana to manage Sikh shrines in the state has started afresh with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Friday saying that an announcement in this regard will be made Nov 1.
The move has drawn a sharp reaction from the Amritsar-based SGPC which warned that the Haryana government would have to bear the “consequences” of the move.

SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the matter.

“I do not understand who has given the authority to the Haryana chief minister to interfere in the matters of Sikh religion. He should understand that a person who tries to interfere in issues pertaining to Sikh religion is our biggest enemy,” Makkar told IANS.

Hooda said that the announcement for a separate SGPC is likely to be made on Haryana Day (Nov 1), the day that Haryana was carved out as a full-fledged state in 1966.

“All legal aspects of the report of the committee headed by Agriculture Minister H.S. Chatha are being examined and if there is no legal hitch in it, an announcement in this regard might be made on Haryana Day falling on Nov 1 next. The report of the Chatha Committee was being examined in view of the aspirations of the Sikh community (in Haryana),” Hooda told the media here on the first day of the state assembly session.

Hooda’s announcement is being seen in light of the impending assembly polls in the state to be held latest by February next year. The state has a sizeable Sikh population.

The SGPC, which manages all the big Sikh shrines - gurdwaras, including the holiest Sikh shrine ‘Harmandar Sahib’ (popularly called Golden Temple) in Amritsar, is unlikely to let go its control over the Haryana gurdwaras without a fight.

“We know how to fight for our rights and we are powerful enough to shield them. Today I am appealing the prime minister for the third time to intervene in the issue and to stop Hooda from giving such irresponsible public statements,” Makkar said.

He added: “By giving such statements, Hooda is provoking Sikhs of the entire country and I am afraid that he will have to bear dire consequences. He is doing this at the behest of four-five unscrupulous people.”

Makkar said that the SGPC was not like any other ordinary organization and is an apex Sikh body with historical relevance.

Asked if the SGPC would launch an agitation against the Haryana move, Makkar said: “We will plan an agitation after a meeting with the representatives of Shiromani Akali Dal.”