Tension prevailed in Kurukshetra town on Saturday as the newly-constituted Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) tried to take control of the Gurdwara Chatti Patshahi, one of the State’s biggest.
Heavy police deployment was seen near the gurdwara as leaders of the HSGPC and their supporters marched towards the shrine.
Those trying to take control of the shrine also broke two police barriers.
Police officials said they were trying to pacify the HSGPC and their supporters and stop them from turning the situation into a violent one. “We are trying to diffuse the situation,” a police officer said.
“Sikhs from Haryana have come here to take control of the gurdwara. We appeal to all Sikhs to reach here and help in taking over the gurdwara. We will definitely take control of the gurdwara,” said HSGPC office-bearer Joga Singh.
The HSPGC had on Friday asked the SGPC to hand over records of the Haryana gurdwaras to it. The SGPC had categorically refused to do so.
Senior HSGPC leader Didar Singh Nalwi, one of the prominent leaders spearheading the campaign for a separate SGPC for Haryana, said that a general body meeting of the committee was held in Kurukshetra on Saturday. The meeting was held at Dera Kar Sewa.
Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the SGPC are locked in a bitter controversy with the Haryana’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda government over the creation of the HSGPC.
Meanwhile, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday alleged “vicious efforts” of the Congress government in Haryana to wrest control of gurdwaras would not be tolerated.
Mr. Badal told reporters in Amritsar that he has asked the Centre to take suitable steps to prevent the atmosphere from vitiating further as the Haryana SGPC leaders are allegedly issuing statements of dire consequences if Amritsar-based SGPC fails to vacate the shrines in Haryana.
The Amritsar-based SGPC, which is the apex religious body of Sikhs, holds control of gurudwaras in Haryana.
