Punjab to amend Sikh Gurdwara Act for free Gurbani telecast: Chief minister Bhagwant Mann

CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday evening announced that the state government would amend the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, to facilitate free air telecast of sacred Gurbani from Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar.
Mann said the agenda for this resolution will be cleared in the cabinet meeting on June 19. The resolution would later be tabled in the state legislative assembly, its special session scheduled on June 20.This decision is in consonance with the feelings of the Sikh sangat across the globe, said Mann.
It is the need of the hour to disseminate the ‘Sarb Sanji Gurbani’ across the globe to spread the universal message of ‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ (welfare of all), said Mann. He said Gurbani should be telecast free of cost, rather than confining it to a single channel.
However, the announcement led to a controversy as not only the SGPC questioned his announcement while underlining that the Punjab legislative assembly does not have the power to amend the Gurdwara Act, but political leaders, legal experts and several Sikh activists and netizens also arguedthat the Act came under the domain of the Parliament.
A row erupted after the AAP-led Punjab government’s announcement on Sunday to amend the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, to ensure free telecast rights of Gurbani from the Golden Temple. Reacting sharply to the move, the apex religious body for Sikhs, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) asked the government not to interfere in religious matters.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the CM was unaware of the procedure for the amendment of the Gurdwara Act. Addressing the CM, he tweeted: “Don’t try to complicate the Sikh religious affairs. Sikhi issues are connected with the sentiments and concerns of the Sangat (community) and the government has no right to directly interfere in these.
You are talking about amending the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, to add a new clause but you are unaware of the procedure. This can be done only by the Government of India through the Parliament on the recommendations of the SGPC.
The Punjab government has no right to amend the Act. Stay away from creating a dilemma in the community for your political interests.” In a strong reaction, Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal described Mann’s announcement as a direct government attack on the Khalsa Panth and Sikh shrines.
This abominable decision is the first dangerous and daring step towards the government taking over the custody of ‘gurdhams’ (gurdwaras) by taking away the right to preach Gurbani to the Sikh community, said Sukhbir. This decision has brought to mind the repression of the Mughals, the British and Indira Gandhi on Harmandir Sahib, but the Khalsa Panth will respond with retaliation, he added.
Senior advocate H S Phoolka also argued that the state assembly does not have the power to amend the Act. “Punjab Vidhan Sabha doesn’t have the power to amend the Act, it can only pass a resolution to ask the central govt to amend the Act. But Punjab Vidhan Sabha has full power to pass its own Gurdwara Act as per the SC judgment.
Pb should come out of the clutches of Centre & pass its own Act,” he tweeted while quoting the CM’s tweet. Senior BJP leader Sunil Jakhar tweeted: “Mann Sahib, at Guru’s abode you go for paying obeisance and not for confrontation.
I am of the view that there should be no hegemony on Gurbani telecast but the way to settle your political scores you are interfering in the religious affairs of Sikhs it is condemnable. I strongly oppose your intention to amend the Gurdwara Act (which is not even in the state's domain).” Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira tweeted: “As far as my knowledge goes,
Punjab government cannot tinker or amend or add to the existing Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, as it’s a central Act! I wonder how @BhagwantMann is speaking to add a clause in the said Act! Yes, the Vidhan Sabha can pass a resolution and send it to the Centre for addition of their demand.
The purpose of my tweet is on the question whether the state govt is entitled to do so and on the legality of the announcement made by the CM only.” “CM’s announcement is a clear breach of the Constitution of India and a betrayal of the Nehru-Tara Singh Pact, which promised that no alteration to the Gurdwara Act would be made unless agreed to by the supreme body of the Sikhs, SGPC.
This will turn the clock back to the Gurdwara Reform Movement of the 1920s and now it is up to the SGPC, Akalis of all sorts to join forces and fight this divisive threat and settle the matter once and for all,” said advocate Gurcharanjit Singh Lamba, who was a member of Justice K S Tiwana panel formed by SGPC to prepare a draft of All India Gurdwara Bill.
Former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna said that CM Mann’s announcement reflected that he did not have even basic understanding of the issue. “However he has shown his real and bad intentions,” he said, adding that the Punjab CM was desperate to interfere in Sikh religious affairs.