SGPC against pardon to Sirsa dera chief, says Longowal
BLASPHEMY ROW Says they have no plan to replace Akal Takht jathedar
AMRITSAR: For the first time a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president has spoken against the pardon granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim by Akal Takht in September 2015 in a blasphemy case.
SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal, while replying to a query, said, “The matter is threeyear old and only ‘singh sahiban’ (Sikh clergymen headed by Akal Takht jathedar) can say anything on this. But, we don’t want that the dera chief be granted pardon.” However, he also mentioned that the pardon was revoked later.
The SGPC chief was briefing the media on the programmes chalked out to celebrate 550th Parkash Gurpurb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak.
Notably, before taking over the reins of the SGPC, Longowal was also declared ‘tankhaya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) after the last assembly elections for seeking votes from the dera followers in violation of Akal Takht’s 2007 ‘hukamnama’. As ‘tankhaya’, he served ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) at the Golden Temple.
The call to boycott dera chief was given for he had hurt Sikh sentiments by imitating Guru Gobind Singh by donning a robe that looked a copy of the one worn by the 10th Guru.
The pardon was revoked on October 16, 2015, following a massive backlash from Sikh bodies.
Notably, then SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar passed a resolution in the SGPC meeting to justify the pardon. The resolution still stands. Longowal remained mum on i.
Amid demands being raised by the Sikh bodies and a few SAD leaders for removing Giani Gurbachan Singh as Akal Takht jathedar for pardoning dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015, Longowal made it clear that the SGPC has no plan to replace the jathedar in near future.
As 2019 will mark Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary, the SGPC has demanded that Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district, where Guru Nanak spent as many as 14 years, be given the ‘holy city’ status.
Longowal reiterated that they had received no invite from Punjab government for the celebrations, and the SGPC is organising parallel religious events from November 22 onwards.