CHANDIGARH/ NEW DELHI: The bitter confrontation going on between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managing Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna has also left a bad impression on the ongoing “Rinn Utaar Yattan Yatra” (the march of gratitude) by a Punjab Brahmin Sabha on the occasion of the martyrdom anniversary of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Maharaj.
If the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) is to be believed, the members of the community were allegedly not allowed to stay in the Gurdwara Rakkabganj sarai by the task force of the DSGMC headed by Sarna. The SAD alleged that the members of the yatra were misbehaved with and humiliated when they reached the sarai, although the bookings had been done well in advance. The SAD described it as an “attack” on the yatra.
Punjab has a number of Brahman Sabhas representing the community. The SAD, in its attempt aimed at social engineering and involving more Hindus, particularly the Brahimins with the party, sponsored the yatra by the Brahman Sabha Jalandhar. The yatra was aimed as a gesture of gratitude towards the Ninth Sikh Master who laid down his life for saving the faith of the Brahmins.
Sarna, who is a bitter critic of Badal and a potential rival in Sikh politics, apparently did not want the SAD(B) to claim the credit for organising a Brahmin yatra. And that appears to be the reason for his resistance to the yatra.
Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal condemned the “gross disrespect and abusing behaviour” shown by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) with the pilgrims of “Rinn Utaar Yatan Yatra.”
“The way they were refused langar, accommodation and forcibly pushed out of the Gurdwara Rakabganj has deeply hurt the feelings of the sikh community. It is ironical to see that on the martyrdom day of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji the devotees from the Hindu religion for which Guru sacrificed his life have been treated in this cruel way”, party spokesperson Daljeet Cheem said, while adding, this action of the task force of the DSGMC had ashamed the community in the whole world.
He alleged, this was the second such attack in the last few days by the Sarna brothers and their coterie in the gurdwara premises symbolising the desperation of the Harvinder Singh Sarna and their men and their hooliganism to do anything anywhere.
Dr. Cheema further said that it was most unfortunate that on a day when whole Sikh community was observing the martyrdom day of Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib ji who had sacrificed himself for the sake of the Hindu community, members of the same community were humiliated and thrown out of the Gurdwara Sahib in the same city where the Guru Sahib had sacrificed himself. He said it was most unfortunate that target of this highly condemnable act of hooliganism of the Sarna brothers were those people who were carrying out a thanks giving “yatra”.
It may be recalled that the Yatra started from Bathinda on November 22nd and reached Sri Anandpur Sahib the same evening. The Yatra was flagged off to Delhi on morning of November 23rd by the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the presence of Jathedar Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib Jathedar Tarlochan Singh, large number of religious personalities and thousands of people. Throughout the journey the yatra was welcomed at all important stations by different social, religious and political parties keeping in view the message of universal brotherhood, tolerance and peace of this yatra carried.
