SAD bats for separate gurdwara panel for state

Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, February 19

With an eye on the Lok Sabha elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has supported the idea of an elected and autonomous panel to manage gurdwaras in Haryana.

The party, however, said the role of the SGPC would not be allowed to be compromised.

“The demand for a separate gurdwara panel is a non-issue. The SAD will try to consolidate Sikhs in key segments,” Manjinder Singh Sirsa, SAD national spokesperson, told The Tribune over phone.

About 10 lakh people of the state are Sikhs. They are in a sizeable number in Sirsa, Kurukshetra and Karnal districts.

“In the last Assembly elections, the BJP had failed to make a mark in Dabwali, Ellenabad, Kaliwanwali, Ratia, Tohana, Pehowa and Yamunanagar segments, where the Sikh population is high. The SAD can make an impact in these areas,” Sirsa said.

On the alliance partner in the state, he said the party was in talks with all political parties, except the Congress.