SGPC: Centre too should waive GST share on langar
Body seeks refund of ₹4.5cr central tax; wants representation in Censor Board; meeting sees argument over ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’
AMRITSAR : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday reiterated its demand for complete waiver from Goods and Service Tax (GST) on langar items from the Centre as the levy has hit its budget hard, claiming it has already paid ₹4.5 crore on this count.
During the budget session at Teja Singh Samundari Hall, the SGPC general house unanimously passed its annual budget of ₹1,159 crore for 2018-19, an increase of ₹53 crore from the last year’s ₹1,106 crore.
SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said though they welcome the Punjab government’s move to waive its share of GST, they want complete waiver from the Centre. “Also, the money the SGPC have paid as GST so far should be refunded,” he said.
However, he was not equally vocal while interacting with the media when he was asked to comment on the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not waiving GST despite it is an alliance partner of the Akali Dal which rules the SGPC. He said their negotiations with the Centre are on.
SGPC general secretary Gurbachan Singh Karmuwala delivered the budget speech in the presence of Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and Longowal. All the members gave their approval by raising their hands amid ‘Sat Sri Akal’ slogans.
In the budget, ₹689 crore has been earmarked for gurdwaras under Section-85 of the Gurdwara Act, 1925, ₹66 crore for general board fund, ₹56 crore for trust fund and ₹36 crore for educational fund.
SLIGHT HIKE IN ALLOCATION FOR EDUCATION
to be spent on educational institutions — 37 colleges and 53 schools. However, there was no sizeable increase in the allocation this year. During the last fiscal year, the allocation was increased by more than ₹11 crore while it is only ₹1.5 crore this time. ₹228 crore allocation has been made for 2018-19 for the institution against the last year’s ₹227 crore.
An additional ₹36 crore has been allocated for scholarships to Sikh students studying in SGPC-run institutions.
To encourage Sikh students to appear in civil services examinations, the SGPC announced to give ₹1 lakh to those who clear the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and allied services examination, while ₹75,000 for clearing the Punjab Civil Service (PCS) exam.
The SGPC has set aside ₹76 crore for ‘dharam parchar’ (religious propagation) committee, an increase of ₹3 crore from the last year’s allocation. Of the ₹76 crore, the committee will spend ₹16 crore for intensifying the drive for propagation of Sikhism.
“This drive is dedicated to 550th parkash gurpurb (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev. This gurpurb is being celebrated on a large scale at the historic town of Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala,” said Longowal.
While presenting other resolutions passed by the house, the SGPC chief condemned the negative portrayal of Sikhs in movies and TV serials. He urged the Centre to give the SGPC representation in the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to prevent insulting of Sikhs.
He also demanded that they should have a representative in the NCERT.
MY PREDECESSORS CLEARED FILM, I TOOK BACK NOD : LONGOWAL
When cornered over the row of film ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal said the decision to issue clearance to the film was that of his predecessors and he has withdrawn it.
“I cannot do anything about what happened in the past but I will not let anyone commit blasphemy as per the Sikh tenets,” he said replying to another query.
Member of opposition Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, who has been general secretary of the gurdwara body for many years, tried to corner Longowal on the issue claiming that the SGPC has no stand on this.
“The SGPC has been doing flip-flops on the issue. The SGPC president should clear his stand,” Bhaur said.
“Our committee is working to decide whether these kind of movies should be banned or not,” he said when questioned whether he will pass a resolution to permanently ban the movies portraying Gurus in human forms.
On ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’ producer Harinder Sikka sticking to his decision to release the movie on April 13, Longowal said they will discuss as what action should be taken if Sikka goes ahead with his plan.
I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE: EX-CHIEF SECY
Former SGPC chief secretary Harcharan Singh, who issued no-objection certificate to the film, made it clear that he did so as Sikka had removed all the objections raised by the committee.
“Before I issued the letter, the Akal Takht jathedar had issued an appreciation letter to Sikki for the movie. In such a situation, our letter holds lesser importance.”