Days after decision to fete Phoolka, SGPC dubs him a ‘frustrated man’
Reacting to Supreme Court lawyer-activist’s recent announcement to free gurdwara body from the clutches of the Badal family, Longowal says he is spreading a false propaganda
AMRITSAR : Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal on Sunday said Supreme Court lawyer and activist Harvinder Singh Phoolka is a frustrated man, reacting to his announcement to spearhead a campaign to free the gurdwara body from the clutches of the Badal family.
This comes nearly two weeks after the SGPC chief announced to honour the Supreme Court lawyer at the Akal Takht for ensuring the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-sikh riots. He made this statement after resigning from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently.
“He (Phoolka) is spreading a false propaganda against the gurdwara body,” Longowal said. He does not have a permanent stand on people or issues. His move to resign from the AAP has exposed his nature. His allegations against the gurdwara body are baseless since it is totally independent and non-political,” said Longowal.
Phoolka is one of the lawyers who have fought the anti-sikh riots cases in the Delhi high court which recently awarded life sentence to Sajjan Kumar. After the conviction of Sajjan Kumar, Phoolka had visited the Golden Temple where SGPC officials felicitated him with a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour).
During the December 19 core committee meeting of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which controls the gurdwara body, Longowal had announced to organise a function at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, to formally honour Phoolka, other lawyers and the witnesses in the cases against Kumar. The function was later postponed.
Interestingly, despite Longowal’s sharp reaction, the SGPC has not cancelled the ceremony to honour Phoolka.
ON DEC 19, SGPC CHIEF HAD ANNOUNCED TO ORGANISE A FUNCTION AT THE AKAL TAKHT TO HONOUR PHOOLKA, OTHER LAWYERS AND THE WITNESSES IN
THE CASES AGAINST SAJJAN KUMAR
“The SGPC takes decisions on its own and there is no outside interference in its working. We have not scrapped the plan to honour the lawyers. The function is likely to be held in the third week of this month. The venue is yet to be decided. We will also invite Phoolka for the event,” he added.
Also, the Facebook pages reportedly run by SAD’S IT cell carry posts against Phoolka.
‘ARDAS’ ON JAN 10 TO PRAY FOR PUNISHMENT TO ’84 CULPRITS
The SGPC has decided to hold an ‘ardas’ on January 10 in gurdwaras to pray for punishment for