HARIDWAR, India—Sardar Gurcharan Singh Babbar, the president of All India Sikh Conference (AISC), was prevented by heavy police force from entering the State of Uttarakhand. On Monday, April 14, 2014, a large number of Sikhs accompanied Bhai Babbar from Laskar on the way to Har-ki-Paur, Haridwar, for the purpose of taking back possession of the demolished historical Gurdwara Shri Gyan Godri Sahib. In view of upcoming state Lok Sabha elections, the police force stopped the group, from proceeding towards the gurdwara site, halting them at Badiwala near Laskar, Haridwar.
Sikhs protested, raising slogans against the Uttarakhand Government, and expressed their determination to take back the gurdwara site which is a historical shrine of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Bhai Babbar said that though Sikhs are ready to give their lives for the just cause, they will continue to protest peacefully. Although senior police officers expressed that they are bound to the Model Code of Conduct, the Office of the Chief Minister did arrange a meeting between Shri Harish Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, and Sardar Gurcharan Singh Babbar, the President of AISC. The meeting was held during a public rally at Mangalore, Haridwar, late in the evening.
Bhai Babbar led a delegation of five delegates to see the Chief Minister, and requested the latter to initiate handing over the possession of the Gurdwara land to the Sikh Community as soon as possible. Mr. Rawat promised Bhai Babbar that a high-level meeting will be held on the 10th of May to take up the issue with the Chief Secretary of the State and all other concerned officers, so as to find a way forward soon.
Mr. Rawat also extended his warmest greetings to the Sikh community all over the world on the occasion of Vaisakhi. Soon after the meeting, Bhai Babbar briefed the reporters. and said he was hopeful that the issue would be resolved soon. Sardar Harbhanjan Singh (Jan Chetna), Suba Singh Dhillon, Balveer Singh, Satvinder Singh, Vivek Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sukhvinder Singh, Bakhtavar Singh, Mahender Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Sardar Sattu Singh, and Gulshan Ji were among the prominent leaders who led the protest.
