Chandigarh: A 40-member committee of the newly created Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) would soon start functioning from its state-level office at Kurukshetra, a Haryana minister said Sunday.
Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said the HSGPC was set up as per the long-pending demand of Sikhs in the state.
“The Shiromani Akali Dal has been managing Haryana gurdwaras since the formation of Haryana which resulted in unfairness towards Haryana Sikhs. Now the chief minister has ensured constitutional rights to Haryana Sikhs,” Bhukkal said.
She said “sensing the sentiments of Haryana Sikhs, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has now given them the right to serve gurdwaras”.
The Haryana government’s move to have a separate HSGPC is being resisted by the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The SGPC controls gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. It is likely to lose control of the Haryana shrines following the enactment of the new law in the state.