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Journalism of Courage
MUKTSAR, Feb 18: Former SGPC president and vice-president of the World Sikh Council Baldev Singh Sibia said today that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had done a historical blunder by organising a coronation ceremony of Giani Puran Singh as acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht with the case of suspended Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh still pending with the SGPC executive.
In an interview to The Indian Express Sibia said that such an installation ceremony could be organised only in case of appointing a full fledged jathedar. The appointment of Giani Puran Singh as acting Jathedar was a temporary arrangement, he said.
“Justice should not only be done, it should be seen to have been done”, said Sibia, adding that Badal had put all the Sikh traditions and customs to the back burner to settle his political scores with SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra.
Once a confidant of Badal, Sibia said the feelings of Sikhs living in the country and abroad had been hurt with the “high-handedness of Badal,” who, he opined, went all out to assert his supremacy in the religio-political affairs.
Sibia expressed surprise that the executive members of the SGPC, loyal to Badal, who had placed Bhai Ranjit Singh under suspension for his alleged doubtful integrity had chosen Giani Puran Singh to occupy the highest temporal seat of Sikhs notwithstanding the fact that a case of land grabbing was still pending against him.
To stress his point, Sibia quoted an example of October 10, 1981, when Giani Puran Singh, was fined Rs 100 by the SGPC executive in a cheating case.
Elaborating further, Sibia alleged that Puran Singh, who was working as a head granthi at the historical gurdwara of Tarn Taran, had lodged a fictitious bill of imparting a duty during the non-recital of Granth Sahib. Sibia alleged that following some complaint, the case was investigated and Puran Singh was found guilty. Sibia claimed that Puran Singh was penalised under Resolution Number 837 and the record to this effect was still available with the SGPC executive.
Sibia said that the new Jathedar could not get respect of the Sikh masses as he was a Sarkari Jathedar’. He alleged that some self-styled and government-sponsored sants and priests took part in the installation ceremony of Puran Singh, while most of the Sikh bodies kept away from it, he said.
According to Sibia, Bhai Ranjit Singh would continue to be the patron of World Sikh Council. Akal Takht jathedar becomes the patron of World Sikh Council by virtue of his post.
