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Badal to involve all 5 'takhts' in Khalsa tricentenary

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to involve the five 'takhts', the temporal seats of Sikhs in the Khalsa tricentenary celebrations.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal confirmed that the decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting called by him on the night of March 8.

The involvement of the five 'takhts' holds significance in the ongoing controversy of the claim of Bhai Ranjit Singh as the Akal Takht Jathedar despite his ''suspension'' by the Badal-dominated Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee executive.

Badal clarified that the religious programmes in the celebrations would be conducted under guidance of the five 'takhts', while there has been no change in the programmes of the state government.

The five 'takhts' are the Akal Takht in Amritsar, Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo (Bhatinda), Takht Hazur Sahib in Nanded (Maharashtra) and Takht Patna Sahib in Bihar.

On the other hand, Bhai Ranjit Singh, who had successfully led the Hola Mohalla procession at Anandpur Sahib on March 3, claiming himself as the Akal Takht Jathedar, already announced his own detailed programmes to organise parallel celebrations of the tricentenary.

Badal clarified that his government had no intention to dominate the celebrations. ''We have chalked out the programmes in a purely religious manner,'' he said.

Meanwhile, a group owing loyalty to the chief minister, last evening asked SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra to ''face the verdict of the Sikh history against him, stop meddling with the honour and the dignity of the religious institutions for personal gains, shun the language of violence and bloodshed.''

Prominent among the signatories were the Akali Dal's office secretary Kirpal Singh Badungar and state minister Sucha Singh Langah.

Tohra would face a no-confidence motion on March 16 at the general house meeting of the SGPC.

UNI

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