Zee Media Bureau
Chandigarh: The Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday made an announced to form separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for the state in accordance with aspirations of the Sikhs of the state.
Hooda, who attended the Sikh sammelan at Kaithal here today, took the decision to form a separate body to administer Gurudwara`s in the state.
The bill for the same will be presented in Assembly on July 11.
While Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal had opposed any decision to form a separate body and appealed the Centre to intervene in the matter, Congress had said that a Bill to this effect will be passed in the coming Haryana Assembly session, and warned the Central government from interfering in the State issues.
Badal also said that Haryana`s move was "politically motivated" and with an eye on assembly polls due in October this year even though the issue had been hanging fire since long.
On its part, the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, which at present controls the affairs of the gurdwaras in Haryana but stands to lose authority if separate panel is formed, warned action against supporters of separate SGPC, saying that any such move will be "directly challenging" Akal Takht - the supreme temporal body of the community.
Furthermore, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also President of the Shiromani Akali Dal, alleged that Congress had always tried to "divide and weaken the Sikhs".
Meanwhile, the Haryana government`s decision to form separate Gurudwara administration is being backed by Aam Aadmi Party.
(With PTI inputs)
