LAMBI, Punjab—Continuing his offensive against the Congress, Punjab chief minister Parkash Badal on Saturday alleged that the party was resorting to its “old policy of meddling” into the religious affairs of Sikhs.
Badal alleged the party was backing Paramjeet Sarna, former head of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, “who, through one of his aides, has filed a criminal petition in HC challenging the authority of the jathedar of ‘Akal Takht’.”
‘Akal Takht’ is the the highest temporal seat of the Sikh community.
Badal had earlier attacked the Congress-led UPA government for “not being invited to the foundation laying ceremony of a cancer hospital in Sangrur”, a charge refuted by the union health ministry. “Sarna is the head of the B-team of the Congress and their trusted agent,” Badal alleged while speaking at a religious function at his constituency.
Manjit Singh GK, head of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, had reportedly alleged that to gain “lost political ground”, Sarna made one of his “aides” file a criminal petition in Delhi high court, challenging the authority of the ‘Akal Takht’.
Sarna had, however, trashed the charges, saying he has nothing to do with the person who has filed the petition. He earlier filed a petition in HC Delhi high court challenging a proposed memorial in Delhi’s Rakab Ganj gurdwara for those killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh Pogroms. It was later withdrawn.”The Congress party is manoeuvring to denigrate the revered position of the Jathedar Sahib. Such tactics are totally intolerable,” Badal said.
It should be noted that Badal himself, along with his SAD(B) party have meddled in Akal Takht Sahib’s affairs and contributed heavily to unseating the Panthikly elected Jathedar and replacing him with a series of appointed Jathedars who were not chosen by Sarbat Khalsa, as per Sikh tradition.
