The Punjab Pradesh Committee general secretary, Mr Parminder Singh, today revealed that since the issue was very serious and was being seen as a threat to the communal fabric of the country, the PPCC had decided to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to apprise them about the situation in the aftermath of the action of the Narendra Modi Government.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Parminder Singh said the PPCC would stress upon the Prime Minister and the President to make a constitutional provision to curb interference in religious matters by any Chief Minister and people like Mr Narendra Modi. “Narendra Modi is acting like Aurangzeb of modern India and that too in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, which cherished communal harmony and peace. First Mr Modi acted against Muslims and Christians and now he is turning towards Punjabis, who had made maximum sacrifices during the freedom struggle,” said Mr Parminder Singh.

At the same time, while congratulating the Punjab Congress, particularly the PPCC general secretary Parminder Singh, for taking up the issue, Sikh scholar Prof Tarlok Singh has condemned the action of the Gujarat Government as Guru Nanak did not belong to Sikhs alone. He said the inclusion of the ‘bani’ of Bhagat Namdev, who hailed from the erstwhile “Saurashtra” in the holy Guru Granth Sahib, was by itself, proof that Sikh Gurus were for communal harmony and universal brotherhood and there was no place for discrimination against anybody.

Criticising the role of the SAD and that of the SGPC leadership, Mr Parminder Singh said though the SAD leaders, including Mr Badal, and the SGPC leaders, were informed about the unfortunate development in November last itself by Mr Jaswinder Singh Sethi, president of the Sikh Gurudwara of Baroda, and by Bhai Balwinder Singh Rangila, no move was initiated by the SAD leadership to persuade its ally, the BJP, to stop Mr Modi.

“Mr Sethi has informed me that none of his letters to the SAD elicited any response from the party or the SGPC though no holiday was observed on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2004. Mr Sethi also informed that a deputation of Gujarati Sikhs had also met senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, but in vain. It is very discouraging that Mr Badal reacted on the issue only after it was taken up by the Congress.

On the other hand, the UPA chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, set a unique example by declining the Prime Ministership and offering it to a Sikh,” said Mr Parminder Singh, who visited Gujarat to assess the situation after receiving complaints from the Punjabi community living there. “Mr Advani is a Sindhi and claims to have reverence for Guru Granth Sahib, but it is a matter of shame that he too has not done anything to address the issue.”