Punjab must remove controversial clauses

Hoshiarpur / Daljeet Ajnoha/May 28 : Jathedar Jagdev Singh Mansowal, circle president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, has called on the Punjab government to remove controversial provisions from the hastily passed “Jagat-Jot Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act.” He said the community’s highest temporal authority, Shri Akal Takht Sahib, through acting Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, had requested the state government to delete the objectionable clauses, but the government continues to display a stubborn and authoritarian attitude.
Jathedar Mansowal criticized several elements of the Act. He said the use of the term “store” to describe places of sukhasan (resting places for the Guru Granth Sahib) is inappropriate and disrespectful. He also objected to provisions regulating custodians, making published beeds (lists or memorial registers) public, and assigning identification numbers to scriptures — measures the panth (Sikh community) cannot accept.
He warned that, instead of targeting genuine acts of disrespect, the law imposes sweeping safeguards for Shri Guru Granth Sahib that effectively treat the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, granthis and gurdwara committees as if they were legally culpable. “By attaching far-reaching provisions like section 983,” he said, “the Act places gurdwara bodies and office-bearers within penal legal ambit, which amounts to direct government interference in Sikh tenets.”
Jathedar Mansowal said the Act was passed in haste without panthic consultation and therefore lacks the community’s endorsement. He urged the Punjab government to immediately remove the disputed clauses, comply with the orders of Shri Akal Takht Sahib, and respect the sentiments of the Sikh panth.