Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 17
Indicating that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is going back to its Panthic agenda, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the Sikhs had a separate identity that must be preserved.
He said the SAD would ask the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana to repeal the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Act enacted by the earlier Hooda government.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, SAD Member of Parliament, has moved a private member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha, seeking an amendment to Article 25 (b) of the Constitution which clubs the Sikhs with Hindus.
This is the third such attempt, but the timing is significant. With the RSS reportedly making inroads in Punjab villages, amid speculation that the BJP may go it alone in the next Assembly elections, the SAD is looking at consolidating the Sikh vote bank.
with thanks : Tribune : LINK : for detailed news.
