Chandigarh, Oct 23: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today denounced the Centre's decision to debar sehajdhari Sikhs from contesting SGPC elections, saying "Sikh is a Sikh no matter he sports a beard or not." "I am in favour of voting rights for sehajdharis in SGPC polls. The Centre has debarred them from voting for their vested interests," he told reporters at a function here.

Singh said his government had constituted a committee which had recommended to the Centre to allow sehajdharis to vote in the SGPC polls. The Centre had recently debarred sehajdhari Sikhs from contesting the SGPC elections. The decision is likely to debar at least nine lakh sehajdharis who do not keep long hair, but believe in the ten Sikh gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Chief Minister ruled out dissidence within the state unit of the Congress. He cautioned his ministerial colleagues to take precautions while talking on their mobiles as "their phones might be tapped by the intelligence agencies at the behest of the Centre."

Those who were present on the occasion included ministers Santokh Singh, Amarjit Singh Samra and Rakesh Pandey.

Bureau Report