Congress: Wrong to claim ownership over Gurbani

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 13

The controversy over the telecast rights of Gurbani from Golden Temple has taken political overtones, with the ruling Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) objecting to it, and calling it a “sacrilegious” issue.

In a statement issued here, Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said that “claiming rights over ‘Hukumnama’ and ‘sarb sanjhi Gurbani’ is wrong”.

“Gurbani as revealed through the Sikh Gurus is universal. Sikhs, collectively, are its custodians. They are not the owners and thus no one can claim ownership over the ‘Hukumnama’. The channel owned by the Badals has committed sacrilege by claiming exclusive rights to telecast Gurbani live,” he said.

Kultar Singh Sandhwan, AAP MLA from Kotkapura, said that claiming ownership on the relay of Gurbani by any company tantamount to a sacrilegious act.