Akalis reduced SGPC to ‘golak' committee: Bhagwant Mann

Hindustan Times

a day ago

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday accused Akali leaders of reducing the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to a 'Shiromani Golak Parbandhak Committee,' driven by greed for money.
Speaking at a public gathering, Mann alleged that the Badal family misused their political power to interfere in religious affairs, including manipulating the appointment of jathedars of the Akal Takht to serve their personal interests.
'Driven by financial motives, the Akalis have degraded the sanctity of the SGPC and misused both it and the Akal Takht for narrow political gains,' he said.
Mann further accused the Akalis of twisting the directives of the Akal Takht to deceive the public and advance their own agenda. 'The Akalis looted not only the state exchequer but also funds belonging to religious institutions. Their tenure was marked by political and religious exploitation, causing significant harm to Punjab,' he added.
Mann claimed the Akali leadership neglected the poor while enabling the powerful to loot the state with impunity, exploiting the weaker sections of society.
'The people of Punjab will never forgive the Akalis for the crimes committed against the state and its residents,' Mann warned.
He also criticised traditional political parties for being insensitive to the welfare of economically weaker and underprivileged communities, accusing them of treating Scheduled Castes merely as vote bank.
'As rulers, the Akalis remained indifferent to the problems of the common man and treated the SC community as vote banks,' Mann said.
He further alleged that Akali leaders amassed enormous wealth by misusing their official positions and remained inaccessible to the public, which ultimately led to their downfall.
CM has insulted Sikh community: SGPC chief
Reacting sharply to Mann's comment, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said 'it is an insult to the Sikh community and its premier religious body'.
Dhami said the CM's remark was not only baseless and offensive to Sikh sentiments, but also displayed 'intellectual bankruptcy' and 'political arrogance.' He termed the statement a 'blatant insult to the highest religious institution of the Sikh Panth.'
'Such irresponsible comments reflect a shallow understanding of Sikh institutions and history,' Dhami said, warning that targeting the SGPC for political purposes could have far-reaching consequences.