A delegation led by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Friday reached Nanded and joined the protest over the proposed amendments to the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Act, 1956, by the Maharashtra government.
Other delegation members comprised Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema and SGPC general secretary Rajinder Singh Mehta.
The delegation joined the protest being organised by Hazur Sahib 'sangat' against the amendment passed by the Maharashtra Cabinet. The Takhat Hazur Sahib in Nanded in Maharashtra is one of the five Takhats (high temporal seats) of Sikhs and is of great historical importance as the 10th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, passed away there.
'Direct interference in Sikh affairs'
The decision to amend the Act that will increase the number of the government's nominees to the religious body's board has drawn criticism from SGPC president Dhami who said it was "sad, condemnable and a direct interference" in Sikh affairs "which cannot be tolerated".
He has now written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, seeking an appointment to discuss this issue. Akali Dal leader Cheema said the state government has opened a way to directly nominate 12 out of a total of 17 members of the board.
"The number of members sent by the SGPC has been reduced from four to two and the nomination of Chief Khalsa Diwan of Hazuri Sachkhand Diwan has been abolished. Similarly, two Sikh MPs who used to be board members have also been denied this right in the new amendment," he wrote on X.
"It's clear that the state government is going to take full control of the gurdwara board which can't be tolerated by the Sikh community. SAD urged the Maharashtra government to roll back the amendment immediately," he added.
The Global Sikh Council (GSC), a confederation of national-level Sikh organisations, has called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. It warned that such unilateral decisions of the government, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, constituted a gross violation of Sikh gurdwara affairs and would not be tolerated by the Sikhs. In a statement, GCC President Kanwaljit Kaur highlighted the "consistent disregard" shown by the ruling dispensation in Maharashtra towards Sikh sentiments.
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