Chandigarh, Punjab (July 17, 2014): Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is reported to have threatened to quit if the Central government did not intervene in the issue of setting up of a separate committee in Haryana to manage Gurdwaras there. According to Badal Dal sources the party led by Badal clan is also planning to launch a jail-bharo campaign in Delhi.
Parksh Singh Badal who controls, and is primarily considered responsible for degeneration of working of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), rushed to New Delhi yesterday, and even missed the annual Budget announcements of his government in the state Assembly here, to meet Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the Haryana SGPC issue.
Parkash Singh Badal reportedly told the BJP ministers that if the Indian Government did not stop the Haryana government from setting up a separate HSGPC, he would “sacrifice” his job to protect the interests of the Sikhs and the Amritsar-based SGPC.
However, the political observers and Panthic critics say that it was Badal’s interests to control the Sikh institutions and to (mis)-utilise Gurdwara funds for his political gains that are under threat with the formation of the HSGPC.
The issue, no doubt, is of prime importance for the Sikhs but if any independent panel is set-up to analyse the issue, Parkash Singh Badal and his party would be one of the prime culprits for the degenerated affairs of the Sikh institutions, including SGPC.