Ashutosh man denies allegations

CHANDIGARH: Unfazed by threats meted out by various Sikh organisations, Ashutosh of the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan in Noormahal would carry on with his activities, which he avers were neither anti-Sikh nor were meant to hurt any other religion.
Lt Col (retd) PGS Sandhu, a close associate of Ashutosh who is also incharge of his security, has strongly refuted observations made by the Sikh organisations that Ashutosh had sought to distort the Sikh tenets and the message of the Guru Granth Sahib.
He said the entire propaganda against the Sansthan seemed to be a political ploy of the Akalis who had no word of objection against Ashutosh for five years when they were in power. Many of them, he added, had been frequently visiting the dera in the past. Sandhu challenged anybody from the Sikh organisations to come to the Noormahal dera and prove whether the Guru Granth Sahib “bani� had been twisted or distorted in any way.
He said the entire literature and activities of the Sansthan were open to scrutiny by anybody.
In any case, he said, the state government had already constituted a fourmember committee headed by principal secretary NS Rattan to examine the activities of the Sansthan and to ascertain if there was anything objectionable to that.
With more than 25 lakh followers in the country and abroad, Sandhu said it was preposterous to question Ashutosh’s activities. A vast majority of Ashutosh’s followers were the Sikhs, who, he argued, would not allow any tampering with the Guru Granth Sahib “bani�.
Sandhu questioned the propriety of the Sikh organisations seeking ban on Ashutosh’s activities, particularly when everybody has a right to opinion so long it does not hurt anybody else.