Amritsar :
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Thursday strongly criticized the Punjab government’s decision to register an FIR concerning the missing 328 ‘saroops’ of Guru Granth Sahib, calling it an unwarranted interference in the Sikh body’s administrative matters and a direct challenge to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs.
The special executive committee meeting, chaired by SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, passed a resolution stating that all actions related to the sacred ‘saroops’ had already been completed per the directives of the Akal Takht. The committee alleged that the involvement of ministers, the Speaker, and MLAs in a protest on Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple, and their directions to the police to register the FIR, indicate a deliberate political exploitation of the issue.
Dhami clarified that the matter does not involve sacrilege or missing ‘saroops’ but concerns financial misappropriation by certain employees. He called the portrayal of the issue as sacrilege a political conspiracy aimed at defaming the SGPC and hurting Sikh sentiments, claiming the Punjab government is complicit in this agenda.
He cited the inquiry by the Akal Takht-appointed committee under advocate Dr. Ishar Singh, which found that some SGPC publication department employees attempted, unsuccessfully, to conceal wrongdoing for personal gain. Based on this report, the SGPC had taken action through executive committee resolution number 466 dated August 27, 2020, including deciding on legal action against the employees involved.
The SGPC reaffirmed that the matter is administrative and financial in nature, urging the government to refrain from politicizing religious affairs.
