SGPC wants Centre to halt Sacha Sauda activities

Amritsar, Nov 23 (UNI) The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committee (SGPC) today asked the Union and Haryana governments to take immediate steps to 'halt the activities' of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda.

In a resolution passed in the meeting of the general house of the SGPC at the Teja Singh Samundri hall in the Golden Temple complex here, the Sikh religious body made it clear that the activities of Dera head Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh were against the principles of Sikhism. His activities had hurt Sikh sentiments and were unpardonable, the resolution which was passed unanmiously added.

Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar who was elected to his third consecutive term as SGPC chief at the meeting regretted that the Union and Haryana governments had taken effective steps to check the anti-Sikh activities of the Dera.

" All activities of the Dera should be halted immediately", he said while speaking on the resolution in the general house after his re-election.

The resolution expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the SGPC 'Dharam Prachar' committee to counter the influence of the Dera amongst the Sikhs.

Through another resolution the SGPC criticised the Haryana government for failing to prevent the attack on Sikhs at Singpura village in Jind district last month. The resolution pointed out Sikhs and SGPC officials were targeted when they tried to take possession of agricultural land belonging to a gurdwara in the village, which was under the jurisdiction of the Shiromani Committee.

The resolution further claimed that the Haryana government failed to act against the alleged culprits who had indulged in violence when SGPC officials showed a court order in their favour on the land. The SGPC has decided to write to the Prime Minister and the National Minorities Commission on this issue.

Another resolution passed in the meeting called upon the Akal Takht to summon Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna as he violated Sikh tenets while transporting copies of the Guru Granth Sahib to the US and Canada.

A resolution appealed to the Union Government to carry out suitable amendements in the Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925 so to allow the SGPC to coopt ten Sikhs from other nations into the SGPC. The resolution pointed out that about half a million Sikhs live in countries outside India.

Another resolution reiterated the SGPC demand for opening a visa centre in the Holy City to facilitate those who desired to visit the Sikh holy shrines in Pakistan through the Amritsar-Lahore road route. A resolution also called for early completion of the corridor project around the Golden Temple for providing easy accessibility to the shrine by decongesting traffic and removing illegal structures.

UNI