CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Newly elected Chief Minister of Haryana, Mohan Lal Khattar, refused to comment on the existence of Haryana Gurdwara Management Committee. He said it was a decision taken by the Hooda Government in eagerness.
“Hooda Government formed a separate Haryana Gurdwara Management Committee for the maintenance of historical Gurdwaras of Haryana on ad-hoc base, as a political stunt,” he stated. “But now the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, so we will wait for the decision to come out.”
Mohan Lal Khattar was addressing a seminar on agriculture organized by Common Wealth Parliamentary Association in Assembly Complex. He refused to say anything more about the Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhik Committee. It should be noted that the BJP had been requested by the Akali Dal (B) to quash the HSGPC since Congress was no longer in power.
Earlier this year, the Congress Government in Haryana decided to organize an ad-hoc committee for the management of Gurdwaras in Haryana. These Gurdwaras were earlier managed by the SGPC, however it was complained by the ad-hoc committee that SGPC was not doing enough for the upkeep of these Gurdwaras. Now that the Congress is no longer in power, the future of ad-hoc committee rests solely on the decision of the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court decides in favor of the committee, it will help other states in India to seek their own Gurdwara management committees.
Currently, the SGPC controls the bulk of the Gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh.
