Govt’s help sought to resolve Khalsa Mohalla Gurdwara issue
Tuesday, 13/09/2016
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=164876&boxid=61419&uid=&dat=2016-09-13
Patiala : Patiala MLA Preneet Kaur has urged the Punjab government to immediately intervene into the matter concerning a Gurdwara situated in the Khalsa Mohalla area in Patiala as the issue is concerned with the peace of this Royal City. The MLA also raised this issue in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
According to a statement issued here late on Monday evening by Preneet Kaur in this context, she claimed that she had raised this important as well as the most sensitive issue, which warrants immediate intervention by the state government. She added that she wrote a letter concerning this issue to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on August 2, but so far failed to get any communication from the Chief Minister’s end about it.
Kaur further said that the issue pertains to the ownership of a site where there is a Gurdwara in the Khalsa Mohalla at Patiala. She said that whereas Punjab Wakf Board claims that there had been a Mosque at this site before 1947 and the Wakf Board did move a Civil Court which has now after a long litigation issued a warrant of possession in favour of the Punjab Wakf Board.
She said that there is no denying of the fact that till 1947, the area around this site was predominantly inhabitated by the Muslims and there must have a Mosque there. However, the entire Muslim Population moved to Pakistan in the wake of the Partition of the country in 1947.
The MLA added that after the Partition, a lot many people migrated from West Pakistan and were rehabitated in Patiala Town and particulaly in this area, which is now overwhelmingly inhabitated by urban Sikhs and they have set up a Gurdwara at the site in question for their own religious needs, which is run by a locality constituted committee.
Preneet Kaur said that in the view of the ground realities, a status quo has been some whow, allowed to be maintained so far, there is total peace prevails in the area. She said that but the court has now ordered execution of the warrant of possession with the help of the police and the duty magistrate and the court has fixed the next hearing on September 20.
