HSGPC right

I am in favour of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and other states should follow suit. The SGPC is a religious body working under shadow of the Shiromini Akali Dal (SAD), a political party which should desist from participating in religious matters/ religious bodies.

JS Dhillon, Chandigarh

Address grievances

The editorial “Politics of management” (July 18) rightly suggests the need for moderation on the HSGPC issue. The SGPC needs to introspect why Sikhs outside Punjab feel discriminated against and why their grievances are not addressed. The Badals have reduced the SGPC to the level of a family institution and now they have lowered the dignity of the holy Akal Takht by involving it in this SGPC-HSGPC issue.

Each state has its own priorities and limitations so it will be wise to have the state religious body with financial independence but under the religious control of the Akal Takht. The opposition of the SGPC and Akali Dal to the formation of separate body for Haryana is purely political as they fear to lose control over gurdwaras in Haryana.

Dr Vitull K. Gupta, Bathinda

Badal ‘panth’ at play

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (controlled by Badal) claim that the formation of a separate Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is unconstitutional. Then the right way was to take legal action and seek a stay from a court in the matter. But both (Badal and SGPC) acted in haste and involved Akal Takht in this controversy and got Haryana Sikh leaders (Harmohinder Singh Chattha, Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi) ex-communicated from Sikh Panth. These leaders were neither summoned to Akal Takht nor given a chance to explain their position. The decision has hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community. These leaders are Sikhs and no one can withdraw their right of being Sikhs. The Akal Takht edict is not in the interest of the Sikh Panth. These leaders have not been ex-communicated from Sikh Panth but actually they have been ex-commited from Badal Panth.

Badal always blamed that the Centre (then controlled by the Congress) was interfering in Sikh religion, but now he is seeking the interference of the Centre (controlled by BJP) in Sikh religious matters. May Waheguru give wisdom to Badal.

Iqbal Singh Dhillon, Patiala

Suspicious manner

Apropos the news article “It’s Centre vs Haryana over HSGPC” (July 19), it is a baffling question whether the Haryana state legislature has the jurisdiction to make a separate gurdwara committee or not. But what is happening right now is the undermining of the constitutional institutions. Both SAD and the Centre, if they want to challenge the state legislature’s jurisdiction, should do so in the court. But, unfortunately, Badal has not chosen the correct path which casts a pall of suspicion on the motives on his part.

Gursharan Singh, Karnal

Centre vs Haryana

In this country, every issue raised by the governments is coated with politics. Keeping an eye on the coming Vidhan Sabha elections in Haryana, the state government has tried to polarise the vote bank of Sikhs. The issue has become a source of tension between Punjab and Haryana.

On the other side, the Centre has also been trying to fish in the troubled waters. With this motive, the Union Home Secretary directed the Chief Secretary of Haryana to ask the Haryana Governor to withdraw his assent to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill 2014.

So, now the battle is on three fronts. This is very unfortunate as it is not in the interests of the nation. Punjab has already suffered a lot from Sikh terrorism and now from drug addiction. In such circumstances, if clash between rival groups of the Sikhs start, it may take an ugly turn.

The political parties should solve the sensitive issue by uniting the Sikh community instead of dividing them. The Centre should act according to the provisions of the Constitution.

BR Kaundal, Mandi

Gender bias at 60

The Haryana Government takes credit for allowing up to 50 per cent concession in bus fares to senior citizens, but that is actually not in practice. This is like mocking at the senior citizens. Only men of 65 years and above and women of 60 years age are allowed concessions though all above 60 are senior citizens. Why this discrimination? This anomaly should be removed and both male or females allowed equal concessions.

Surinder Kumar, Karnal