‘Portraits of Sikhs who made no contribution, too, are at museum’
SANGRUR : Kirpal Singh Badungar, a former president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has landed in a controversy by saying that portraits of those Sikhs “who made no contribution”, too, have been installed at the Central Sikh Museum in Amritsar. He was speaking at the bhog (memorial) ceremony of Surjit Singh Kalabula, a former executive committee member of SGPC and general secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), on Sunday, at his native village Kalabula in Dhuri subdivision.
Responding to a demand that Kalabula’s portrait also be installed at the museum, Badungar said in his speech, “Photo da ki hai? Photo taan ohna di vi lag gai jinna da koi contribution nahi hai (What’s in a photo? Even photos of those people have been installed at the museum who have no contribution),” adding, “Kalabula served the Sikh community and helped the poor. His portrait will be installed at the museum. I will talk to SPGC president Gobind Singh Longowal for it.”
He was speaking in the presence of Simranjeet Singh Mann, president of the hardline party SAD (A), and Sikh preacher and “parallel” jathedar Baljit Singh Daduwal among other SGPC members and Sikh leaders.
When asked about his speech, on Monday, Badungar said, “I meant that some people contributed less, but many contributed a lot. We have installed the portraits of many Sikh warriors along with portraits of those who served in the army or other fields.”
However, from the same stage, Daduwal attacked former SGPC regimes and stressed that Kalabula’s portrait be installed at the museum while those of “traitors” should be removed: “Portraits of those people who gave up during the Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1984 and betrayed the Sikh community have been installed at the museum. And, if portraits of those who issued pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda (Sirsa) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh are installed along with those of Sikh martyrs, the coming generations will be confused about their role in history.”
He added, “When ‘pure’ Sikh rule comes, portraits of traitors will be removed.”