Amarinder raps Badal for raising Nanded Takht issue

Congress leader Amarinder Singh today lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for raising the Sikh community issues for "personal interests."
"It is so characteristic of Badal to rake up Panthic (Sikh community) issues for personal interests," he said and charged five-time Chief Minister of resorting to his "characteristic ways of political blackmail".
Notably, Badal had opposed the decision of Maharashtra government to appoint a BJP MLA as chief of management board of the Takhat Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded, saying the decision is against the Sikhs' code of religious ethics.
Earlier, Badal had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, apprising him that the Maharashtra government's move was allegedly in complete violation of the 'Sikh Maryada' (code of religious ethics) and was to hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs across the world.

Amarinder Singh alleged that for Badal no Sikh is a true Sikh if he does not succumb to his (Badal's) line.
"If any Sikh is with the Congress or any other party like BJP, he is not a Sikh for Mr Badal," the Amritsar MP said in a statement here.

The former Chief Minister said, "He (Badal) had even termed Panth Rattan (former SGPC chief, late Sardar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and (Akali leader) Jagdev Singh Talwandi as traitors".
Amarinder Singh said, this was the last and desperate bid of Badal to rake up panthic issues "to conceal his own failures as he had realised ground slipping beneath his feet".

"Hazur Sahib has an independent management body and they have every right to appoint their own people to the committee," he said, asking, "why should Mr Badal has any objection, particularly when the Gurdwara management there was being run very efficiently?"
"Just because someone does not belong to Badal's Akali Dal does not mean he has no right to hold a prominent position in the affairs of Hazur Sahib," Amarinder asserted, while adding, similarly for a long time the Haryana SGPC was being demanded by the Sikhs of Haryana.