Tarlochan draws DSGMC's ire for attending havan with Sajjan Kumar

New Delhi, Aug 30 (UNI) The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managment Committee (DSGMC) has sought action from Akal Takht against former National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chief Tarlochan Singh for joining November 1984 anti-Sikh riots accused Sajjan Kumar, in a 'havan' which is an act prohibited in the Sikh faith.

''Mr Tarlochan Singh, a Rajaya Sabha MP and close to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, performing 'havan' with Mr Sajjan Kumar, as seen on a television channel, has shocked the Sikhs,'' said General Secretary of the Paramjit Singh Sarna-led DSGMC Harmohinder Singh in a statement here.

Mr Sarna, who heads the DSGMC, accused Mr Singh, who is known as an authority on the Sikh religion and history, of serious violations of the faith's code.

Ahead of the Amritsar Lok Sabha by-election earlier this year, the DSGMC also lodged a similar complaint with the Akal Takht -- the faith's highest authority -- against BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for performing a havan, he recalled.

''Strict action against such (Sikh) people, who hold key positions but are bent on violating the code of the faith they belong to, is required,'' Harmohinder Singh said.

However, Mr Tarlochan Singh defended his action, saying how he could ask Sajjan Kumar to move out of the event.

''Also, anybody holding a public position has to attend ceremonies of all religions,'' he added.

Mr Harmohinder Singh also charged the former NCM chairman with ''trying to twist Sikh history by claiming that there was no gurudwara in Islamic Iraq to please the RSS", adding that later a senior journalist from a news agency visited Baghdad and reported the destruction of the historical gurdwara built at a place visited by first Sikh Guru, Nanak Dev.

Last week, the DSGMC honoured the journalist for visiting the gurdwara site, presently dominated by militants in strife-torn city of Baghdad and reporting the matter in detail.

UNI