JALANDHAR: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) needs to remain steadfast in its Panthic identity and its core constituency. This was emphasized by most of the party speakers at the meeting of the Jalandhar district rural unit here on Friday.The local unit of the party also raised the issue of shifting of Birs of Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara built along a samadh (tomb) in Kalgidhar Avenue area in Jalandhar Cantonment constituency and claimed that it amounted to interference in Sikh religious affairs by the ruling Congress.It is learnt that the local SAD leaders had received directions from the party office in Chandigarh to raise the issue of shifting of Birs from the gurdwara into a major controversy as the area falls in the constituency of Congress MLA Pargat Singh. The land where the gurdwara is situated also belongs to his family.“The common refrain in the meeting was that SAD should remain steadfast in its Panthic identity and issues. We are bound to raise issues pertaining to the Sikh community as party has always remained the political representative of the Panth,” said SAD MLA and district unit (rural) president Gurpartap Singh Wadala. Referring to the issue of shifting of Birs from the gurdwara at Kalgidhar Avenue, he said the Congress should not interfere in Sikh religious issues.Former Akali MLA Sarabjeet Singh Makkar, who lost the last election to Pargat, mainly focused on the issue of shifting of the gurdwara and said it was very unfortunate. However, he said they would follow the directive of the Akal Takht or Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on the issue.While the SAD is raking up the issue, Pargat said the Birs of Guru Granth Sahib were shifted to the main gurdwara in Mithapur village as the Akal Takht had directed that these should not be kept at a samadh and the SGPC had given a call of one gurdwara in one village.“We just followed the Akal Takht and SGPC directives and there was no mala fide intent in doing so. They are politicizing the issue even if that meant going against the Akal Takht directive or SGPC’s own campaign. They should at least wait for the findings of the SGPC panel before raking it up just for their political ends,” said the Congress MLA.“It actually reflects the desperation of the SAD leaders after losing the Panthic ground as they cared little for issues pertaining to Sikhs or Sikhism,” he said.

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