Giani Harpreet Singh, the chief priest of the Akal Takht – the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs — on Tuesday reiterated that a “Hindu Rashtra” would not be in the nation’s interest as advocated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Bhagwat’s comment
Mr. Singh had on October 14 demanded that the RSS be banned, saying the remarks made by the Sangh leaders “would hurt and draw a new line of division in the country and destroy it”.
His comment came in the backdrop of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement in which he claimed that “Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra”.
Mr. Singh, while speaking in Amritsar, said that the comment of RSS leaders that India will be made a “Hindu Rashtra” was wrong and not in the interest of the nation.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Gobind Singh Longowal had also opposed Mr. Bhagwat’s remark, terming it “highly objectionable”.
Religious freedom
Mr. Longowal said the Constitution gave all Indian citizens religious freedom and Mr. Bhagwat was “intentionally trying to impose the Hindu Rashtra agenda by ignoring it”.
