‘Golden Temple doesn’t need any certification’

A row triggered over the ‘Most Visited Place of World’ award given by a UK-based organisation ‘World Book of Records’ (WBR), as the Sikh body, All India Sikh Students Federation (Bhoma) criticised the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday for accepting the certificate.

Representatives of the WBR that catalogues and verifies world records, handed over the certificate of the award to SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh and other senior officials on Friday. General secretary of India chapter, Surbhi Kaul, and Punjab chapter president , Randeep Singh Kohli were among the representatives of the WBR.

Taking serious note of the move, the AISSF leaders said, “Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) does not need any kind of award or certification as the award of unique place in the world has already been given to it by the Sikh Gurus.”

“It is ironical that officials and senior office-bearers of the apex Sikh body received this certificate. Don’t they know about the importance and greatness of the supreme Sikh shrine?” said Manjit Singh Bhoma, AISFF president, in a press release issued here.

He said that the SGPC should apologise over this act from Guru and Khalsa Panth (Sikh community) and return the certificate with an immediate effect. If the SGPC does not return the award, we will protest, Bhoma said.