SGPC president elections: In-house TV channel for Gurbani telecast: Jagir Kaur’s topmost agenda
Bibi Jagir Kaur spelled out her agenda for the upcoming election of the SGPC president scheduled on November 9, as she has decided to contest the polls. She launched an attack on SAD
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) suspended leader and former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president, Bibi Jagir Kaur announced that SGPC will have its own television channel (for the telecast of the Gurbani) as per directives of the Sri Akal Takht, if she is elected as president.
Bibi Jagir Kaur spelled out her agenda for the upcoming election of the SGPC president scheduled on November 9, as she has decided to contest the polls. She also launched an attack on SAD and its president, Sukhbir Singh Badal and her opponent candidate and present SGPC president, Harjinder Singh Dhami for cancelling 2007 blasphemy case against Dera Sirsa chief over Gurbani telecast exclusive rights to PTC TV channel owned by Sukhbir.
Former MLA from Bholath constituency in Kapurthala, Bibi Jagir Kaur while addressing, said that the independence, autonomy and ‘Panthic’ status will be reinstated and the premier Sikh body will not be governed by politics but will direct the SAD to work according to religious values. “I am happy that for the first time from the last several decades, ‘Lifafa’ culture to elect the president, has come to an end and SAD has announced an official candidate for the post of the SGPC president,” added Kaur.
Kaur, who has been a minister in the state cabinet, launched an attack on the party’s official candidate, SGPC president, Harjinder Singh Dhami for not accepting the directives of the Akal Takht jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh. She said that Akal Takht jathedar had directed SGPC to start its own TV channel for live telecast of the holy Gurbani from Sri Darbar Sahib and then SGPC president Dhami also announced that they will start it within seven days but nothing has been done.
She said that SGPC faced a lot of criticism over the exclusive telecast of Gurbani to the PTC channel.
Attacking on the Badal’s, Jagir Kaur said that the Sikh community has long faced tragedy when the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Sirsa, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was booked for blasphemy in the year 2007 but later the case was cancelled in 2014 and then the Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege happened in the year 2015. The Dera chief was forgiven by the Akal Takht and retracted under the pressure of the Sikh community. “If Dera chief was sent to jail in the 2007 blasphemy case then the aftermath could have been avoided. We will support the people fighting for the case to logical conclusion”, added Kaur.
She further said that she will take along all the sprinter groups of the Sikhs across the party line, for the release of the Sikh prisoners. She said that Akal Takht jathedar had expressed his views that there was no rule for the appointment or service of the Akal Jathedar, if she became SGPC president, then we will implement Akal Takht jathedar orders and frame the rules for it. She said that SGPC will form the Sikh Heritage commission for the conservation of the Sikh religious buildings or other heritage history.
“SGPC has shrunk after Haryana formed a separate management committee, I will make efforts to bring more Gurdwara committees in Punjab, other states, foreign countries into the fold of the SGPC,” added Kaur. She said that she will focus on the preaching of the Sikhs and publication of the religious text. Kaur termed her suspension from the party unconstitutional by the disciplinary committee of SAD and said that there has been no meeting of the working committee that’s why the disciplinary committee has no value, she added. She said that she should have been called before her suspension even though there was no written complaint against her. Now, there has been no gain of calling her before any committee, she added.