Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the supreme body of Sikhs, is furious over the recent decision taken by the Maharashtra government on the Shri Hazur Sahib Nadesh Gurdwara Board. SGPC has strongly condemned the decision of the Maharashtra Government Cabinet to reduce the number of Sikh members in the Gurdwara Board.
President Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee has also written a letter to the government expressing his objection to this decision of the Maharashtra Cabinet. SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the act of limiting the number of members of Sikh organizations in Shri Hazur Sahib Nanded Gurdwara Board is extremely sad and condemnable.
Government wants to take over Gurugharas
SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami has also shared a long tweet, tagging the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He wrote that this decision of Maharashtra Government is a direct interference in the affairs of Sikhs, which the Sikh community cannot tolerate. The Maharashtra government’s decision to increase the number of government-nominated members on the Gurdwara Board and reduce the number of members from Sikh organizations is a step towards taking over Sikh pilgrimage sites.
Government should stop conspiracies in case of Sikhs
He said that the Maharashtra government did not hold any consultation with the Sikhs before proposing such amendments in the ‘Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib Nanded and Abchal Nagar Sahib Board Act 1956’. He has appealed to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to immediately stop the conspiracies to interfere in the management of Sikh pilgrimage sites.
He said that the amendment of Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board Act 1956 should be stopped. He said that participation of representatives of Sikh organizations should be ensured in the Nanded Gurdwara Board as before. Dhami has written that this is a very serious matter related to Sikhs.
He even appealed that a delegation of Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee should be given immediate time to meet the CM so that every aspect can be discussed seriously.
“The purpose of giving representation to members of Sikh organizations in the Nanded Gurdwara Board is to ensure the functioning of the Board in a transparent and religious manner in view of the sanctity of Takht Sahib, the respective Sikh shrines and any distortion in the Act will harm this spirit,” Said Dhami in the post.
SGPC angry over Maharashtra government’s decision, Dhami said – limiting the number of members in Shri Hazur Sahib Gurdwara Board is condemnable