Randhawa meets SGPC today, says will stick to CM’S stance

CHANDIGARH :Punjab jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa will represent the state government in a meeting called by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in Amritsar on Tuesday over the preparations for the 550thbirth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

Randhawa said he will stick to the stance taken by chief minister Amarinder Singh on the joint event at Sultanpur Lodhi on November 12.

The meeting will be chaired by SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal. This is the third such meeting with the first two remaining unrepresented by the government and the both sides blaming each other.

The government claimed it never received an invitation despite the CM having nominated two cabinet ministers — Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi. But the gurdwara body had said the government representative ignored the invite.

“Let us see what their offer is and I will take a decision accordingly,” Randhawa told HT.

Channi won’t be attending the meeting as he is travelling abroad. “The domain of the SGPC is inside the gurdwara while the state government will take care of the function outside,” he said.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which controls the SGPC with majority of members, said religion is the gurdwara body’s

domain and the government should assist it in organising the function and make the preparations accordingly.

The SGPC has decided to organise a function in the gurdwara in Sultanpur Lodhi and the state government is also making preparations for a parallel event.

Giani Harpreet Singh, the head priest of Akal Takht, has given a call for a single event.