'CM should explain move to amend Gurdwara Act'

Proposed amendment onslaught on Sikhs, says Badal

Terming the move to amend the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act as an “ill-conceived” one, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal asked Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday to explain the rationale behind the step.

“Before questioning the role of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the affairs of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), the Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit must explain the rationale behind their ill-conceived move of amending the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Act, 1971, enacted by the Parliament of India,” Badal told reporters here.

“SAD had every right to participate in the affairs of the DSGMC “because we had fought valiantly in the Gurdwara Reforms movement,” he said, adding that the party’s leaders had made sacrifices after which the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) could be constituted.

“The Delhi chief minister should not forget that SAD was contesting the DSGMC elections ever since its inception due to which they were fully entitled to raise voice against any interference by the government in the religious affairs of the Sikhs,” he said.

The proposed amendment by the Congress government at Delhi was a direct onslaught on the rights of Sikhs, Badal alleged while also saying that he has raised the matter with the Prime Minister and urged him to desist the government from taking this disastrous step.

Dikshit had told reporters in Ludhiana on Saturday that Badal should not interfere in the affairs of Delhi Gurdwara elections. She had also strongly refuted the charge that the Delhi government had anything to do with the violent clash that took place at Gurdwara Rakabganj Delhi on Thursday.