Sikh community angered by Maharashtra government's decision, appeals to stop immediate government interference in Gurdwara management

The Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee has appealed to the Maharashtra Chief Minister to immediately stop the conspiracy to increase government influence in the management and concerns of Sikh shrines.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Samiti (SGPC) have opposed the Maharashtra government's move to amend the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchal Nagar Sahib Act 1956 and have asked for its repeal. Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema has said in a statement that it seems the Eknath Shinde government wanted to arbitrarily control the Gurdwara Board, which the Sikh community will never tolerate. Cheema said the move was a direct interference in the religious affairs of Sikhs. He has demanded its immediate cancellation.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Samiti (SGPC) Harjinder Singh Dhami has strongly objected to the Maharashtra government's move to reduce the number of members of Sikh organizations in the Takht Sri Hajoor Sahib Nanded Gurdwara Board. Dhami said that the proposed amendment to the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shri Hajoor Abchal Nagar Sahib Act 1956 was a direct interference in the affairs of the Sikh community.

Dhami said that the Maharashtra government's decision to increase the number of government-nominated members and reduce the number of members of Sikh organizations in the Gurdwara Board (in Nanded) is an act of gaining direct control over Sikh temples. There was no conversation with the Sikhs before such a proposal.

Cheema said that the Maharashtra government's decision allows direct nomination of 12 members out of the total 17 members of the Nanded Gurdwara Board. He said that the number of members sent by SGPC has been reduced from four to two and nominations of Chief Khalsa Diwan and Hazuri Sachkhand Diwan have also been abolished. He claimed that similarly two Sikh MPs who were members of the board have also been deprived of this right in the new amendment.

According to a statement released here, Dhami has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asking him to appoint an SGPC delegation to consider the matter. In his letter, Dhami appealed to the Maharashtra Chief Minister to immediately stop the conspiracy to increase government influence in the management and concerns of Sikh shrines. He said that participation of representatives of Sikh organizations should be ensured in the Nanded Gurdwara Board as before.