Best Lawyers in Chandigarh Cong govt, SGPC differ on 500th Gurpurb events

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 2

The Congress government and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) are not on the same page so far as 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev are concerned.

Indications in this regard have emerged after a SGPC delegation led by its President Gobind Singh Longowal, recently called upon the Chief Minister to extend an invite for a mega event planned by them to celebrate the historic occasion.

While the Congress wants the SGPC to be part of the events being organised by the government in a specially erected tent city, the latter wants to hold the event at Guru Nank Dev College in Sultanpur Lodhi. A senior Congress leader engaged in making the arrangements said, “We are spending Rs 200 crore on making the arrangements for the main event, but the SGPC wants its former chief Bibi Jagir kaur to be the stage secretary of the event. It could be a contentious issue.”

Cultural Affairs Minister Charanjit Channi said, “We want SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal to attend the meeting of state-level organising committee so that a collective decision on the events can be taken, but the SGPC has not been forthcoming.”

He claimed that the SGPC was playing in the hands of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, who wanted to project himself as the main leader of the Sikhs. “The government is the main nodal agency for holding the events and wants the SGPC to be part of it in order to spread the message of universal love, harmony and religious tolerance,” he said. He also pointed out that Akal Takht Jathedar had already appealed to both SGPC and the government to commemorate this historic event jointly.

Longowal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Best Lawyers in Chandigarh High Court