AMRITSAR: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday alleged that the Centre and its agencies were trying to “weaken” his party as well as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
He said it was because of “these agencies” that the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee had been “overtaken” by “anti-panthic” forces and now the Sikh body in Haryana is “threatened”.
Badal appealed to the Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal seat, as well as heads of ‘panthic’ organisations to “guide” his party in protecting ‘panthic’ institutions, including the SGPC, from the “onslaught” of nefarious elements who were bent on dividing the Sikh community.
He was addressing a gathering of Sikh devotees at Diwan Hall in the Golden Temple complex on the centenary of ‘Saka Panja Sahib’.
“We should together act as a buttress against such divisive forces in order to give them a befitting response,” Badal said.
The SAD and the SGPC were not “anybody’s property” and both were democratic bodies whose heads were elected to office, he said.
He said it was unfortunate that the Centre as well as its agencies were trying to “weaken” both institutions by “misusing” members of the community.
Later talking to the media, Badal said, “There is no envelope culture in electing the president of the SGPC as is being claimed by opponents.”
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh appealed to the Sikh community and the SAD leadership to strengthen the SGPC and the SAD, saying the two bodies were the true representatives of the Sikh community.
He urged the ‘Sangat’ to imbibe Sikh principles and suggested that “training camps” should be held to prepare SAD workers to “fight” against anti-panthic forces.
He also asserted that the ‘Khalsa Diwan’, ‘Takht boards’ and other institutions should be freed from the clutches of individuals and that they should be used to strengthen the Sikh community.