By IANS
Amritsar : Sikh high priests from five temporal seats of the religion met here Wednesday to discuss a sealed letter sent by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim to resolve the ongoing controversy between the clergy and the sect leader.
The meeting of the Sikh clergy is a crucial one to defuse tensions between Sikhs and the dera chief after he upset Sikh sentiments by portraying himself like the 10th Sikh guru, Gobind Singh, last month.
But Joginder Singh Vedanti, head priest of the Akal Takht – the highest temporal seat of Sikhism – abruptly left the meeting held in the Golden Temple complex here with another priest and headed for an undisclosed destination.
Vedanti, who cut short his Canada visit to attend the meet, said the outcome of the discussions would be known later Wednesday.
The Sikh religious leadership is under pressure from various quarters, including the Akali Dal-led government in Punjab, to resolve the tiff with the dera.
The Akal Takht had earlier called for a complete boycott of the dera chief and his sect in Punjab. It also sought complete closure of all sect activities and campuses in the state.
The contents of the second letter, now with Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar, were not known since it was in a sealed envelope. But it is believed that it contains a re-worded apology from Gurmit Ram Rahim to the Sikh community.
The dera chief, in an unsigned press release last month, had sought an apology from the Sikh gurus for his "unintentional" blasphemy of Sikh religious sentiments. The apology was, however, rejected by the Sikh clergy.
Sources in Sikh organisations spearheading the campaign against the dera chief indicated that the re-worded apology was addressed to the Sikh community now.
A Bathinda court had last week issued a non-bailable warrant against the dera chief for hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community through his actions.
However, the judge held that the Punjab police would have to seek permission from the state government before arresting Gurmit Ram Rahim.
The dera-Sikh controversy had led to violence across Punjab for over a week in May.