By IANS
Sirsa (Haryana)/Chandigarh : Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim tendered an apology Sunday evening – the deadline set by the Akal Takht for the sect to vacate its campuses in Punjab following a controversy over the godman's portrayal allegedly in the manner of 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh.
"We seek an apology from Guru Gobind Singh in the interest of humanity and peace," said the sect in a statement issued from its headquarters in Sirsa, about 300 km from state capital Chandigarh.
The press release came from the sect and not from the chief himself.
Also the sect apology was sought from the Sikh guru – who had founded the Khalsa (The Pure) faith in 1699 – and there was no mention of apologising to the Sikh community or the Sikh clergy which had felt offended by the action of the sect chief earlier this month.
The Sikh clergy has called a meeting in the Sikh holy city Amritsar Tuesday to discuss the apology, Akal Takht head Joginder Singh Vedanti said.
"We will discuss the dera apology at the meeting," Vedanti said.
Referring to the controversial portrayal in a newspaper advertisement earlier this month, the dera statement said: "Let alone imitating the revered guru, we cannot even imagine this thought."
The apology comes after efforts led by religious leader and social activist Swami Agnivesh who along with a multi-religion delegation mediated between the two sides.
The controversy had sparked protests across Punjab and parts of Haryana, with many Sikhs laying siege around Dera campuses. Clashes between the two sides nearly a fortnight ago had led to one death in Punjab.
While the dera had last Sunday "regretted" the events, the Akal Takht – the highest temporal seat of Sikhism – had insisted on closure of all deras or campuses by Sunday.
Hardline Sikh organisations have been demanding nothing less than the arrest of the dera chief for "blasphemy" of their religion.
"If other political and religious leaders can be put behind bars for various reasons, why can't he be arrested?" Mokham Singh of Damdami Taksal asked.
Meanwhile, Punjab remained peaceful Sunday even as the Akal Takht deadline to the sect to vacate its campuses in the state came to an end with no untoward incident being reported.
Nearly 100,000 Punjab Police personnel and over 40 companies of paramilitary forces were in place in the state.
The sect headquarters were provided unprecedented security by the Haryana police and central forces as thousands of dera followers descended for their Sunday congregation.
Though Punjab and parts of Haryana remained tense, there seemed to be no sign of the sect vacating any of its campuses either.
"The deadline has ended and the dera has not acted according to the hukumnama (edict) of the Akal Takht. Now we will decide on how we deal with this man (dera chief)," radical Sikh leader Jathedar Nandgarh said.
Security forces were on high alert particularly in the cotton-rich Malwa belt of south Punjab – which has a large number of dera followers – and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar.
The sect campuses at Salabatpura, the biggest campus of the sect in Punjab located 30 km from Bathinda, Malout, Sangrur and Sunam were virtually fortified by police and the Border Security Force (BSF) to prevent any clashes.
Any recurrence of violence will put Punjab's Akali Dal government led by Parkash Singh Badal in an embarrassing situation.
In Sangrur town, 160 km from Chandigarh, a memorial service was held for Kanwaljit Singh, who was killed in a clash between sect followers and Sikhs in Sunam May 17.
Sikh leaders have described him as a martyr of the community. But his father Bant Singh urged Sikhs not to politicise his son's death.
However, ruling Akali Dal leaders and Sikh religious leaders descended in Sangrur to attend the memorial service. These included Akali Dal working president Sukhbir Singh Badal, son of Parkash Singh Badal and sitting MP, and former union minister S.S. Dhindsa.