Badals misused political power to interfere in Sikh matters: Punjab CM

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday accused the Badal family of “misusing” its political power to interfere in religious affairs of the Sikhs.

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He alleged that it influenced the appointment of the Akal Takht Jathedar over the years to suit its personal interests.

The Chief Minister levelled the allegations while addressing the beneficiaries who gathered at Guru Nanak Dev University here to receive certificates of loan waiver.

He also claimed that the Akalis, driven by “financial motives”, have “degraded” the sanctity of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and misused Sikh institutions for narrow political gains.

The CM said the Badal family reduced the SGPC to a mere “Shiromani Golak Prabandhak Committee” for its “greed for money”.

He also accused traditional political parties of remaining insensitive towards the welfare of economically weaker sections, adding that “selfish leaders” always treated those from the Schedule Castes (SC) merely as their vote bank.

For the first time, he claimed, the state government had extended a loan waiver to farmers belonging to the SC community. He said a relief of Rs 67.84 crore had been given to 4,727 loanees of Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation.

Bid to distract attention from failures: Cheema

Responding to the allegations, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said it was Mann who was “unnecessarily interfering in religious affairs of the Sikhs by uttering disparaging words against the SGPC”.

He said the “politically motivated remarks” were made to distract the attention of people from burning issues of deteriorating law and order, rising unemployment and drug addiction in state.

Cheema also alleged that ruling AAP leaders in Punjab were behaving as dictated by their leaders in Delhi. “Otherwise, there was no need to interfere in religious affairs of a community,” he said.

Remarks show intellectual bankruptcy: SGPC chief

Hours after the Chief Minister referred to the SGPC as the “Shiromani Golak Prabandhak Committee”, the apex Sikh gurdwara body slammed Mann for his remarks.

In a statement, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami termed the remarks “baseless” and a “blatant insult to the Sikh Panth’s highest religious institution”.

He added that the comment not only reflected Bhagwant Mann's “intellectual bankruptcy but also exposes his arrogance and shallow understanding”.

The SGPC president asserted that the SGPC was not merely a management body but also a model institution in the fields of social welfare and education.

“Despite limited resources, the SGPC established nearly 100 educational institutions in Punjab,” he said.