By IANS,
New Delhi : The Akali Dal will not allow the Haryana government to meddle with the internal matters of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), party leader Ratanjit Ajnala said in the Lok Sabha Thursday.
Speaking during zero hour, Ajnala said SGPC is an elected religious body of Sikhs, engaged in charitable work for all sections of the society. It was formed in 1925 and it enjoyed the support of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
“The Sikh community has made a lot of sacrifices for the Hindus and the country,” he said, adding the Haryana government was now trying to divide the SGPC and meddling in its internal affairs.
“We cannot allow Haryana government to meddle into the internal affairs of the SGPC,” said Ajnala, who was allowed to speak on Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani’s request.
As zero hour began, Speaker Meira Kumar invited Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurdas Das Gupta.
However, Akali Dal members, who, during question hour, protested the Haryana government’s move to set up a separate SGPC and disrupted proceedings, requested the speaker to allow them to raise the issue.
The speaker, however, did not yield. Referring to the disruptions by the Akali Dal members during question hour, she said: “We can’t run the house like this.”
Finally, Advani requested the speaker to let Ajnala raise the matter.
“Because the leader of the opposition requested, you will be given three minutes,” she said.