SGPC seeks removal of Haryana Governor, Chief Secretary

Ludhiana, Jul 21: Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar-based supreme religious body of Sikhs, on Monday demanded the removal of Haryana Governor and state's Chief Secretary in the wake of formation of separate HSGPC.

SGPC Avtar Singh Makkar today said, "Haryana's Chief Secretary SC Chaudhary has made a mockery of the letter written by the Centre to the state government, asking Governor Jagannath Pahadia to withdraw his assent to the Bill on separate SGPC passed by the state assembly."

"Pahadia has proved himself more as a leader of Congress than as the constitutional head of the state, particularly in the case of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The Centre should sack him," he said.

"By forming a separate Gurdwara Management Committee in Haryana, the Haryana government has made a clear attempt to divide and weaken the Sikh community," he added.

Makkar said, "the SGPC is known world over as a Parliament of Sikhs. The community members from different parts of the world approach it, seeking solution to their problems."

He said that the strength of Sikhs lies in their unity not in their fragmentation.

"The nefarious design of the Congress is a political game for narrow and immediate political gains," he alleged. The SGPC chief also said Sikhs would never surrender the control of Gurdwaras in Haryana even if they had to go to jails.

PTI