Officials and members of the executive committee of the Shiromani Gurudwara Pradanapan Samiti (SGPC) on Saturday met Sri Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar Gyani Raghveer Singh who sought to boycott Amritsar’s Golden Temple shooter Narayan Singh Chaura. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal has been attacked.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader survived the December 4 attack Shots fired He missed the target. Badal was guarding the Golden Temple after the Sikhs’ highest seat of temporary power – the Akal Takht – punished him and other party leaders for alleged failures during the SAD government’s tenure in Punjab.
The petition submitted by the SGPC officials said that the attack on Sukhbir Badal during his service at the entrance of Sri Harmandir Sahib has caused “deep pain” to the Sikh community. Their mental agony was compounded when the bullets fired by Chaura hit the “pillars of the sacred entrance”.
They described the attack as a direct affront to the authority of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, a gross insult to the central religious site of the Sikhs and a reprehensible act of disturbing its sanctity.
“The life vibrations emanating from this holy place lead individuals to spiritual fulfillment and divine inspiration. The attack on such a revered site has deeply hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees. Sikhs are still bearing the scars of the June 1984 military attack on this site by the Congress-led government. has inflicted fresh emotional trauma on the community,” the petition said.
The SGPC officials appealed to the Jathadar that the Panch Singh Sahibans – the five Jathedars who take important decisions – deliberate on the matter and excommunicate Narayan Singh Chaura from the community for his heinous act.
SGPC junior vice president Baldev Singh Kalyan, executive members Surjit Singh Tughlawala, Paramjit Singh Khalsa, Amrik Singh Wachoa and Ravindra Singh Khalsa were among the delegation that met the Jathedar.
Demand action against those who remove Chaura’s turban
Dal Khalsa leaders on Saturday approached the Akal Takht Secretariat and pasted a letter outside its wall against an Akali activist who they claimed had deliberately removed the turban of Narayan Singh Chaura by the authorities after the failed attack on Sukhbir Badal.
Dal Khalsa Executive President Paramjit Singh Mandal said, ‘The police have arrested Chaura and initiated legal action. The law will take its course … but disrespect for the turban must be addressed.”
“Clear video clips of the removal of the turban are available on social media. The Akali activist has been identified as Jaspreet Singh Rana, who is the district president of the Yuva Akali Dal in Pathankot. You can independently verify the identity of this person and his heinous deeds,” he said.
“We appeal to the Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar to take immediate and appropriate action against this person who took off the chaura turban against Sikh principles and morals,” Mandal added.