Meeting between SGPC, Sikh bodies remains inconclusive

Amritsar, September 14

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A meeting between representatives of the SGPC and the protesting Sikh bodies did not reach any conclusion today.

SGPC officials claimed that the “unreasonably adamant attitude” of the protesting bodies was responsible for the chaotic situation. From SGPC’s side, senior vice-president Rajinder Singh Mehta, personal secretary to president Mahinder Singh Ahli and additional secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhurakona were present in the meeting.

Mehta said: “We took the first step of initiating talks with them. We almost agreed on the nine demands they had raised, subject to the condition that they lift the dharna instantly. But they did not agree to it. Their dharna is hindering the movement of devotees visiting the gurdwara and their aim is to defame the SGPC,” he said.

On the other hand, Harpreet Singh Makhu and Sukhjeet Singh Khosa from the Satkar Committee said SGPC officials were trying to justify their negligence and failure. On the whereabouts of ‘saroops’, they said the details were being collected. “Similarly, our other demands were also not met. So, we have decided to continue the dharna,” Makhu said. Meanwhile, the situation got tense on the Golden Temple complex as hundreds of activists of the Satkar Committee and other Sikh organisations held an indefinite sit-in outside the main entrance of the SGPC headquarters. — TNS