Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
India

Haryana assembly passes bill for separate SGPC

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jul, 2014 01:07 PM
    Amid stiff opposition from the opposition benches, a bill for creating a separate body for managing Sikh gurdwaras in Haryana was passed by the state assembly Friday.
     
    The Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014, was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala Friday afternoon on the opening day of the state assembly's monsoon session. It was passed after some discussion in the house.
     
    The opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed the introduction of the bill. Legislators of both parties walked out of the house over this issue.
     
    In a related development, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini-parliament of Sikh religious affairs, which controls gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Friday said that it proposed to set up a sub-committee to manage affairs of gurdwaras and Sikh affairs in Haryana. Till now, these were controlled by the Amritsar-based SGPC.
     
    SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar cautioned Haryana's Sikhs from falling prey to the Congress conspiracy to divide the community.
     
    The highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, the Akal Takht, had earlier opposed the move by the Haryana government to allow a separate committee to manage gurdwaras in the state.
     
    Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda had Sunday announced the setting up of a separate Sikh committee for Haryana gurdwaras. He had said that the necessary legislation for this would be brought in the monsoon session of the assembly.
     
    A committee constituted by the Haryana government on the issue had submitted its report in favour of separate Sikh body to manage gurdwaras in the state. The committee, headed by state Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha, who is himself a Sikh from Haryana, recommended the setting up of a separate body to manage Sikh shrines in Haryana.
     
    There are 72 gurdwaras in Haryana under the SGPC and they contribute over Rs.30 crore (Rs.300 million) to the SGPC kitty. The SGPC controls majority of the gurdwaras in Punjab, including the holiest of all Sikh shrines 'Harmandar Sahib' (popularly known as Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
     
     

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Anjali Damania, Preeti Sharma-Menon quit AAP

    Anjali Damania, Preeti Sharma-Menon quit AAP
    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Maharashtra suffered a post-poll setback when two senior leaders - state convenor Anjali Damania and state secretary Preeti Sharma-Menon - quit the party Thursday.

    Anjali Damania, Preeti Sharma-Menon quit AAP

    Modi-Obama summit in September, will end visa ban

    Modi-Obama summit in September, will end visa ban
    Nearly a decade after it denied him a visa and blacklisted him, the US is practically preparing to roll out the red carpet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is set to hold a summit meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington in September-end this year.

    Modi-Obama summit in September, will end visa ban

    1,000 Indian students evacuated from eastern Ukraine region

    1,000 Indian students evacuated from eastern Ukraine region
    Around 1,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, are returning home from the restive region of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine after the Indian mission arranged to bring them safely to capital Kiev and the onward journey to India.

    1,000 Indian students evacuated from eastern Ukraine region

    Gadkari to be given charge of Munde's ministries

    Gadkari to be given charge of Munde's ministries
    Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will hold additional charge as minister of rural development, panchayti raj, and drinking water and sanitation, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement Wednesday said.

    Gadkari to be given charge of Munde's ministries

    Sahara chief to remain in jail even as SC lifts freeze on assets

    Sahara chief to remain in jail even as SC lifts freeze on assets
    Sahara group chief Subrata Roy will remain in jail even as the Supreme Court Wednesday lifted the freeze on the group's moveable and immovable assets so it could raise Rs.10,000 crore for part repayment of investors money collected by two group companies.

    Sahara chief to remain in jail even as SC lifts freeze on assets

    Indian's abduction: Afghans arrest suspect, family prays for safe return

    Indian's abduction: Afghans arrest suspect, family prays for safe return
    Afghan security forces Wednesday arrested a suspect in connection with the kidnapping of an Indian aid worker, Jesuit priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar, in western Herat province even as his family in Tamil Nadu prayed for his safety and sought "good news".

    Indian's abduction: Afghans arrest suspect, family prays for safe return