Harish Rawat was seen wiping the shoes of the devotees
Congress leader Harish Rawat was seen cleaning shoes and sweeping the floor at a gurdwara today as part of his promised "penance" for recently comparing Navjot Sidhu and his team to "Panj Pyare", a term of reverence for Sikhs.
In a video posted by news agency ANI, the Congress's Punjab in-charge was seen wiping down shoes of devotees at Nanakmatta Gurudwara in Udham Singh Nagar in his native Uttarakhand.
Followed by a small crowd and TV cameras, Harish Rawat, his head covered, also swept the floor.
Earlier this week, Mr Rawat had apologized for loosely using a Sikh religious term and had promised to atone for it by volunteering his services at a gurdwara.
"Sometimes while showing respect, you use words that are objectionable. I too made the mistake of using the term Panj Pyare for the Punjab chief (Mr Sidhu) and his working presidents. I am a student of history and the Panj Pyara cannot be equated with anybody. I apologise for hurting sentiments. As penance, I will go to a gurdwara in my state and clean the complex with a broom," he had said.
Mr Rawat had used the phrase while trying to smooth over differences with Mr Sidhu after his warning that he must remove his advisers over their controversial comments on Kashmir and Pakistan or the party would. (hyperlink)
"It was my responsibility to meet with the PPCC (Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee) chief (Mr Sidhu), or I would say the Panj Pyaras...," Mr Rawat had said in Chandigarh, with a smiling Mr Sidhu standing next to him.
With the Punjab election months away, the comments aimed at mollifying the cricketer-turned-politician provoked a sharp reaction from the opposition Akali Dal, which demanded an apology from Mr Rawat of "hurting religious feelings".
"Panj Pyare" describes five "beloved men" chosen by Sikh Guru Govind Singh for the Khalsa or the Sikh religious brotherhood. The Panj Pyare are revered as symbols of loyalty and devotion.