After days of dithering, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) led by Om Prakash Chautala has decided to go along with its friend and ally the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab to oppose a separate Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for Haryana.
The Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had on Sunday announced the creation of a separate SGPC for Haryana. This has been denounced by the SAD, which described it as a political gimmick to divide the Sikhs. A Bill to constitute the HSGPC will be introduced in the ensuing Haryana assembly session.
INLD spokesperson RS Chaudhary said that his party is not in favour of the separate body, “Because we do not believe in interfering in the religious affairs of any community. The Congress is playing with Sikh sentiments in order to reap political benefit for itself in the coming assembly elections and it can disturb communal harmony.”
