Days after the legislation was handed, the Akal Takht raised objections – to not the more durable punishments, however to provisions on terminology, the registration and custody of bodily types of the Guru Granth Sahib, and its administration.
It argued these have been issues of Sikh spiritual apply that ought to be determined by Sikh establishments, not the state. It additionally opposed plans to assign distinctive identification numbers to bodily copies of the Guru Granth Sahib and preserve a central register, saying such choices shouldn’t relaxation with the federal government.
The Akal Takht summoned, exterior the Punjab Meeting speaker on 8 Could to elucidate why Sikh spiritual establishments had not been consulted earlier than the legislation was enacted. The speaker, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, from the AAP, appeared earlier than the Akal Takht and defended the legislation, exterior, saying it was wanted to guard the Guru Granth Sahib.
Though the Akal Takht has no constitutional authority over elected governments, it wields immense spiritual affect amongst Sikhs.
In Punjab, the place faith and politics have lengthy been intertwined, political leaders throughout celebration traces have historically responded to its directives on issues affecting the Sikh religion, making its views tough for governments to disregard.
The controversy has since deepened.
The Akal Takht summoned Sikh ministers and legislators from throughout events, together with the AAP, to elucidate why that they had backed the legislation.
In the course of the proceedings, Akal Takht head Kuldip Singh Gargajj requested whether or not they had learn the laws earlier than voting on it. A number of lawmakers admitted that they had not, saying copies of the invoice have been circulated solely shortly earlier than the talk, in accordance with the PTI information company.
Calling this “critical negligence”, the Akal Takht head requested the Punjab authorities to amend the legislation inside a month and urged it to not implement the disputed provisions till then.
The row has additionally change into a political subject.
Punjab’s three major opposition events – the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP – accuse the AAP authorities of dashing the legislation by way of the meeting with out correctly consulting Sikh spiritual establishments.
The dispute comes at a delicate time, with state elections due early subsequent 12 months, including to the stress on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who can be dealing with a separate controversy over an alleged sacrilege-related video.
Opposition events have accused Mann of injuring Sikh sentiments over a video they declare reveals him consuming alcohol and splashing it on pictures of Sikh Gurus. Mann has dismissed the video as “fabricated”.
He has defended the legislation, saying it is not going to be withdrawn, however has indicated the federal government is open to contemplating the Akal Takht’s solutions earlier than deciding whether or not to amend it.
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