Don't meddle with Gurdwara Act in Delhi, warns Badal

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday warned that the move to amend the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1971, could disturb hard-earned peace of the state and asked the Congress leadership “to refrain from playing with fire”.

“The proposed move to amend the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1971 by Congress government in Delhi is a testimony to the fact that Congress is meddling in religious affairs of Sikhs, thereby inciting their religious passions, which can never be tolerated,” Badal said.

He said in the past also due to such “misdeeds” of Congress, the state had felt the brunt of terrorism.

“However, Congress leaders have hardly learnt any lesson from the past and they were hurting the sentiments of Sikhs by fanning such proposals,” he said.

The chief minister charged “the sole aim of the Congress leadership behind such tantrums (referring to the proposed amendment) is to give benefits to their ‘B’ team led by DSGMC chief Paramjeet Singh Sarna and company who were working at Congress leadership’s behest to weaken the Panth (Sikh community)”.

Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has opposed the proposed amendment in the Act, which provides for direct election to the post of president.

Badal said he would soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for seeking their immediate intervention in the matter “so that the issue could be tackled well before it snowballs into a major political issue”.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had recently said in every democratic institution right from panchayat, assembly and Lok Sabha, the leader of the House is elected by the majority and DGMSC could not be an exception to democratic norm.