Amritsar November 24:
Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan Singh slammed People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal for visiting Dera Sacha Sauda sect at Sirsa in Haryana, saying he had acted against the tenets of Sikh religion.
Gurbachan Singh said that since Badal had broken rules which should be adhered by "Amritdhari Sikh, he was no longer a true Sikh" and would not be summoned the Sikh temporal body but warned that he could face a boycott by the community. "Akal Takht only summons baptized Sikhs and Badal was not baptized Sikh. A Gur Sikh (complete Sikh as per Sikh customs) or baptized Sikh who commits a blasphemous act or violates Sikh tenets can be summoned for hearing and be punished if found guilty," Singh said.
He said Akal Takht would ask the Sikh community all over the world to boycott Badal from all public and private events if he continues to visit Dera Sacha Sauda. Various Sikh organisations had demanded that Badal, estranged nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, should be summoned by Akal Takht for his visit to Dera. The Dera chief Gurmit Ram Rahim was criticised after an advertisement on May 13, 2007 purportedly showed him distributing 'amrit' (nectar) in an attire similar to that of Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.
Following the advertisement, violence broke out at several places in the country in which one person was killed and hundreds injured. In 2007, Sikh clergy had directed the community to politically and socially boycott the Dera.
Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan Singh slammed People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal for visiting Dera Sacha Sauda sect at Sirsa in Haryana, saying he had acted against the tenets of Sikh religion.
Gurbachan Singh said that since Badal had broken rules which should be adhered by "Amritdhari Sikh, he was no longer a true Sikh" and would not be summoned the Sikh temporal body but warned that he could face a boycott by the community. "Akal Takht only summons baptized Sikhs and Badal was not baptized Sikh. A Gur Sikh (complete Sikh as per Sikh customs) or baptized Sikh who commits a blasphemous act or violates Sikh tenets can be summoned for hearing and be punished if found guilty," Singh said.
He said Akal Takht would ask the Sikh community all over the world to boycott Badal from all public and private events if he continues to visit Dera Sacha Sauda. Various Sikh organisations had demanded that Badal, estranged nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, should be summoned by Akal Takht for his visit to Dera. The Dera chief Gurmit Ram Rahim was criticised after an advertisement on May 13, 2007 purportedly showed him distributing 'amrit' (nectar) in an attire similar to that of Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.
Following the advertisement, violence broke out at several places in the country in which one person was killed and hundreds injured. In 2007, Sikh clergy had directed the community to politically and socially boycott the Dera.
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