Chandigarh, June 30
Accusing senior Congress leaders from Punjab and Haryana of meddling in the religious affairs of the Sikhs, the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar today said that Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh and Haryana finance minister H S Chattha could be summoned to the Akal Takht.

Makkar said an edict was issued by the Akal Takht asking no one to interfere in the affairs of the Sikhs. "Both these leaders, being Sikhs themselves, have tried to create a chasm amongst the Sikhs by supporting the demand for a separate gurdwara management body for Haryana. They can now be summoned by the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, who has discussed this issue with senior functionaries of the SGPC," he said.

Talking to The Tribune, after the executive committee meeting of the SGPC, Makkar also did not deny that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was in touch with senior Congress leaders in Delhi to prevail upon Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda not to make any formal announcement regarding formation of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGPC).

"The Akal Takht Jathedar has already appealed to all factions of the Sikhs in Haryana not to go ahead with a separate body," he said.

Lashing out at Haryana Chief Minister Hooda, Makkar said the Congress was only playing politics and Hooda was no sympathiser of the Sikhs. "In fact, he never even moved to grant NoCs for various projects being set up by the SGPC. The executive committee of the SGPC today has unanimously resolved to oppose the Haryana government'smove.

"The Congress government in Haryana had promised a separate Sikh body in its election manifesto. If it was serious, it would have implemented this much before and not raked up the issue on the eve of elections in Haryana," he said. Makkar said as per the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, powers to manage all historical gurdwaras in the undivided Punjab rested with the SGPC. The SGPC is in a much better position to maintain and run gurdwaras, besides providing medical and educational facilities.

Capt Amarinder Singh and Haryana minister  HS Chattha can be summoned to the Akal Takht. They have tried to create a chasm amongst the Sikhs —Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC President

Chandigarh, June 30
Haryana Sikh leaders fighting for a separate body to manage gurdwaras in the state today received a shot in the arm with more Sikh bodies joining them.

The Jhinda-Nalvi faction, who has been spearheading the campaign to break away from the Shiromani Akali Dal-dominated Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), threatened to stage an agitation if the government went back on its promise of forming the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC).

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Haryana), an independent political party that contested the SGPC elections against the SAD nominees and won two seats in the state in the last elections, has threatened to launch an agitation if the Haryana Government did not implement the recommendations of the HS Chattha Committee report, which has advocated the formation of a separate body to manage Sikh shrines in Haryana.

Harpal Singh Machaunda, president of the SAD (Haryana) and member of the SGPC (Ambala), today urged Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to announce the HSGPC’s formation at a congregation of Sikhs in Kaithal on July 6. “Sikhs have a lot of hope and expectations from the government that promised the HSGPC in its election manifesto. We know the Congress government is under lot of political pressure, but if it succumbs to it, we will fight for our rights,” Machaunda said.