Har govt committed to giving Sikhs their right: Chatha

Haryana Finance Minister HS Chatha has said that his government is prepared to go to any length to give Sikhs in the state the right to exercise control over their gurdwaras.
"The state government stands by the Sikhs of Haryana and is committed to giving them their right. We are ready to make any sacrifice and are prepared to face any consequences because whatever we have done is within the legal framework and as per the Constitution," Chatha told reporters here.
Chatha, who had headed the committee which recommended that a separate SGPC be set up for Haryana, said there was no question of going back on the legislation even if it means "facing dismissal threat" by the Centre.

The Punjab and Haryana governments are at loggerheads over the move to have a separate SGPC for Haryana.
Reminded that the Law Ministry has asked the Union Home Ministry to direct Haryana government to either withdraw the Haryana Gurdwara Management Bill-2014, send it for Presidential Reference, or bring the state under President's rule, he said, "During last 60 years, no central government has threatened a state government in such a manner."
The Centre has the right to give directions to a state government on the issue of legislation, the Union Law Ministry recently ruled after Haryana government questioned a central missive on the issue of separate SGPC.

Chatha said that the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Bill -2014 has become an Act and cannot be withdrawn. He also made it clear that the Bill would neither be sent back to the governor nor presented for Presidential Reference.

"If the Centre intends to dismiss the Haryana government, it might do so," he said.
He wondered why the Centre was not approaching the court if it felt that the Haryana government has done something illegal.
Meanwhile, In reply to a question regarding armed persons guarding the key gurdwaras in Haryana to retain control following the passage of the legislation, Chatha said that although he has all the respect for "Nihangs because in days of war the Nihangs sacrificed their lives to safeguard the Sikh community", it is not good to send them to gurdwaras with weapons as "this threatens to spoil the peaceful atmosphere in the state".

Amid protests by Punjab, Centre has already asked the Haryana governor to withdraw the assent granted to the Bill which aims to create a separate Sikh gurdwara management committee for Haryana.
The Centre has said that the Haryana Assembly does not have the legal authority to enact such a law and it was thus 'void'.
In a letter to Haryana Chief Secretary SC Choudhary, Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami had said that the 'Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014' passed by the state Assembly on July 11 and cleared by the governor on July 14, has "no legal effect" and has to be withdrawn before further complications arise.