Amritsar, May 23
Toughening its stand on the blasphemous acts of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee today announced that Sikhs could make any sacrifice to stop any attempt of denigration of Sikh Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib and Sikh institutions.

Taking a serious view of the acts of the dera chief who dressed up like Guru Gobind Singh triggering clashes between Sikhs and dera followers, SGPC chief Avtar Singh said the committee would abide by any directive of Akal Takht in its proposed meeting on May 31.

The Akal Takht has already given an ultimatum to Dera Sacha Sauda to shut down its branches in Punjab by May 27.

In yet another tactical move, the SGPC executive blamed Sonia Gandhi, president, Indian National Congress, for the trouble in Punjab. The SGPC executive alleged that Ms Gandhi had been conspiring to create unrest in Punjab through Haryana where the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda is located.

Earlier too, the SGPC had blamed the Congress president for encouraging the move to create a separate gurdwara management committee for Haryana .

The SGPC executive warned the Congress to refrain from “interfering” in the internal affairs of Sikhs. The SGPC also took a serious view of the stand taken by the dera chief who has refused to tender an unconditional apology for his blasphemous acts.

The meeting said the dera chief was already embroiled in a number of criminal cases and a CBI inquiry was pending against him.

In yet another important development, the SGPC offered to extend cooperation to those who have been fighting legal battles against dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The SGPC alleged that the attack on Sikhs in Bathinda on May 14 was organised since followers of the dera wielded sticks which were similar.

To a pointed question, the SGPC chief said branches of the deras must be shut down by May 27 as directed by Akal Takht.

Meanwhile, Rajinder Singh Chhina, secretary, Khalsa College, who had unsuccessfully contested the assembly election on the BJP ticket from Amritsar (West) has condemned the blasphemous acts of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.