Haryana gurdwara body: SAD slams Punjab govt affidavit in apex court

The SAD on Monday hit out at the Punjab government for filing a fresh affidavit in the apex court that it had no objection to a separate gurdwara body in Haryana.

The party described the move a conspiracy, aimed at "grabbing" the control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

The SGPC manages Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

In 2014, the Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was notified for managing Sikh shrines in the state, prompting the then SAD-BJP government to oppose the move in the Supreme Court.

"The Sikhs are opposed to the attempts at the balkanisation of their supreme elected religious institution. It is a deep-rooted conspiracy striking at the roots of the community's spiritual fountainheads by weakening, dissolving or grabbing the control of the SGPC," a release issued by the party here said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal core committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the party, also passed a resolution against the state government affidavit.

The party decided to submit a memorandum to Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore to draw his attention towards the affidavit, saying it was not only a "U-turn" on the earlier affidavit submitted by the state government but also "fraught with serious consequences".

The party said it amounted to a "brazen interference" in the community's religious affairs.

The SAD said the affidavit was "legally and constitutionally weird" as it was directly opposite to the state government's earlier affidavit, which had opposed a separate religious body in Haryana.

The state government recently changed Punjab's stand before the Supreme Court, supporting Haryana's move of setting up a separate gurdwara body.