File photo of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
The Akali Dal has asked the Central government, of which it is a part, to help resolve a crisis over the management of Gurudwaras in Haryana. The Akali Dal rules Punjab, while the Congress is in power in adjacent Haryana, where state elections are due this year.
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The Akali Dal, headed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, is attempting to scuttle the Haryana government's plan under a new state law to take over the running of Gurudwaras there. It accuses the Congress of politicising a matter of faith with an eye on the state elections.
The BJP ally wants a request to be made to the Haryana governor to recommend a Presidential reference on the matter, which the Narendra Modi central government will back. The Akali Dal is expected to seek status quo in Haryana's Gurudwaras till then.
The Centre hopes that the matter will be resolved by the courts and that status quo is maintained till the Haryana elections. A public interest litigation seeking that the new Haryana Act be quashed comes up before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday.
The Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Act, 2014, allows Sikhs of Haryana to manage shrines in the state. All Sikh shrines in India are currently managed by the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee or SGPC, controlled by the Akali Dal.
Punjab deputy chief minister and Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal said to NDTV, "It's an inter-state issue, Haryana government can't interfere in Sikh body...there is a constitutional crisis...the Centre has to take action."
The Akalis says Mr Badal could resign over over what it calls an emotive issue. He has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the crisis and Sukhbir Badal met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh today.
Yesterday, the Akali Dal, posted armed guards outside gurudwaras in Haryana to resist a forcible takeover, setting up a confrontation with the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.
This after Mr Hooda announced a 41-member ad-hoc committee to manage the affairs of gurudwaras in his state. It has been empowered to manage, supervise and take over the assets of Haryana's gurudwaras, including their moveable and immoveable properties, till a full-time body is constituted.
Parkash Singh Badal has convened a congregation of Sikhs in Amritsar on July 27 to devise a strategy to counter the Hooda government's move to split the SGPC.
Punjab Congress Chief Pratap Singh Bajwa hit out at Mr Badal today, saying that the "issue first came up in 1972 with the demand for an all India Gurdwara legislation that would give representation to Sikhs from all over the country and ensure that they managed their own shrines."
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