AKALIS TO SEEK FORGIVENESS
The Shiromani Akali Dal leadership will seek forgiveness from the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, in Amritsar on Saturday for any “mistake committed inadvertently” in the past..
AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will attend the Shiromani Akali Dal’s three-day religious event at Akal Takht starting on Saturday to apologise for the “past mistakes”.
The Akhand Path will commence on Saturday morning in the presence of Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal and party patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, who turns 91 the same day.
SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal was reluctant to speak on the programme. Interacting with the media, Longowal refused to comment, saying this was a matter of the Akali Dal and he represents a religious body. When journalists pointed out that he is the core committee member of the party and was present in its meeting during which the decision to hold the event was taken on Thursday in Chandigarh, Longowal said they will take part in the programme.
An SGPC member said bhog ceremony of Akhand Path will be held on Monday and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is also likely to attend it. “This step should have been taken much earlier to placate Sikhs who were angry over the sacrilege cases and the Akal Takht’s granting pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a blasphemy case,” he said.
SGPC DEMANDS AMRITSAR-PURI TRAIN SERVICE
During the meeting of its Dharam Parchar Committee, the SGPC resolved to intensify the drive and also demanded that a daily train should be run between Amritsar and Jagannath Puri to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Jagannath Puri was visited by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion.
Sharing the proceedings of the meeting, Longowal said a panPunjab grand nagar kirtan (religious procession) has been planned to start from Muktsar Sahib on January 13.