Grewal slams Ayali for colluding with AAP minister over Jathedar appointment issue
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal demanded rebel Akali Manpreet Singh Ayali to make a full disclosure of his meetings with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Harjot Bains before making a concerted effort to hand over the power for making rules for the appointment of Jathedar of the Sri Akal Takht Sahib to the AAP government.
Condemning the manner in which Ayali colluded with the AAP minister, Grewal said, “This has hurt the religious sentiments of the community, which is pained that Ayali thinks the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is above the sacred Takht and has the authority to subjugate it.”
Demanding Ayali apologise for his actions to the Sikh sangat, Grewal also asked the other leaders of the erstwhile ‘sudhar lehar’ to clearly state whether they supported Ayali’s stand or not. He said the ‘sudhar lehar’ leaders claimed that they held Sri Akal Takht Sahib in the highest esteem but had not reacted to the insult meted out to the institution by Ayali. “They must make their stand clear or else it would be surmised that they are in league with Ayali and the government in evading the authority of the Takht,” he said
Grewal also asked the ‘sudhar lehar’ leaders not to indulge in sham exercises. “You are on the one and claiming that you are holding a membership drive on behalf of the Sri Akal Takht but on the other hand you are joining forces with the AAP government to make the Takht subservient to the state vidhan sabha and the AAP government.”
The SAD leader also asserted that it was unfortunate that Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had allowed such a discussion to take place and had not expunged the statements made by Ayali and Harjot Bains from the Assembly records. “This should be done immediately,” he said, adding that the SAD would not tolerate such blatant interference in the religious affairs of the Sikh community. “The community and its representative body –the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)—is competent to make rules and regulations for appointment of the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht and any outside interference is unwarranted and not acceptable,” Grewal added.
