Appointments hit sanctity of Sikh institutions: Capt
Wednesday, 11/11/2015
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CHANDIGARH: Holding chief minister Parkash Singh Badal responsible for the current crisis hitting the Sikh community, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday made an impassioned appeal against any move to further harm the sanctity and authority of Sikh institutions.
Reacting to the “appointment” of Akal Takht jathedar and other head priests at the radical Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar, Amarinder said, “This way, we will only kill the institutions that have been set up after a lot of struggle and sacrifice”.
“The SGPC was created after a five year struggle from 1920 to 1925. If those who run it are wrongly chosen, one doesn’t weaken an institution that has run the affairs of our gurdwaras for so many years. Instead, we should further strengthen it,” said Amarinder.
The former chief minister said while it was the prerogative of the SGPC to make such appointments, at the same time, he has always maintained that the current panel was under the control of Badal. “We immediately need fresh SGPC elections”, he said, adding that the new SGPC can then appoint Takht jathedars with independent thinking to take care of the interests of the ‘Panth’.
“Let us not repeat what Badal has done all his life —subverting and destroying the sacred institutions of the community for his vested interests”, he said. “The way the jathedars have been appointed today will only further undermine the authority of the institution set up after so many sacrifices,” he added.
