Govt creating atmosphere of terror, says SGPC chief

AMRITSAR

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami on Thursday accused the Punjab government and the police of interfering with the arrangements being made by gurdwaras for ‘Khalsa Sajna Diwas’ (Baisakhi).

In a statement, Dhami said there is resentment in the Sikh community due to “unnecessary interference” by the state government and the police administration when the community is celebrating the ‘Khalsa Sajna Diwas’ on Friday as per the ‘panthic’ traditions.

The SGPC chief said arbitrary restrictions are being imposed on the Sangat (community) by the police, adding that the action of the government was “extremely bad” and cannot be tolerated.

“A large number of Sangat gather at Takht Kesgarh Sahib and Takht Damdama Sahib for the Khalsa Sajna Diwas, but they are facing inconvenience due to unnecessary interference of the police,” he said.

The SGPC chief said an atmosphere of fear and terror is being deliberately created in the Sikh sangat. “Policemen deputed at gurdwaras are also pressing managers to follow instructions, which is unacceptable. This is a direct challenge to the maryada (code of conduct) by the police,” Dhami said.

The SGPC head said the government should immediately withdraw the police from gurdwaras. He appealed to the sangat to ignore the police and come to gurdwaras to pay obeisance like every year. He said if the government or the police harasses the devotees, they should report it to the managers of the gurdwaras.