Gurdwara Gyan Godri Sahib Issue: BJP Government Apathy Continues

AMRITSAR: Rebuilding of Gurdwara Gyan Godri Sahib at Haridwar seems a distant dream for the Sikhs as BJP-led Uttarakhand government apathy continues to meet the long pending demand of the Sikhs.

Going by the statement made by Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief minister of Uttarakhand, on Sunday (January 20, 2019), it appears that he is not sincere in addressing this demand.

Rawat came to pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib here. When asked by the scribes, he gave ambiguous answer as, “We are ready to resolve the issue, but consensus is much needed on local level”.

While interacting with media at information office of Sri Darbar Sahib, he tried to cover up the matter by saying that “The local Sikh society has demarcated the site for the gurdwara on another place, where path of Guru Granth Sahib is going on and connection of power supply has also been allotted to it. The local Sikhs agree on this site”.

When he was reminded of the demand that the gurdwara should be rebuilt on its original site near ‘Har-Ki-Pauri’, he avoided to speak much on the

The gurdwara was there once near Har-ki Pauri on the bank of Ganga river in memory of Sikhism’s Guru Nanak who had visited it for spreading his principles. However, it was demolished in 1984 and replaced with commercial outlets and other buildings. For last few years, the Sikh community is demanding it be re-established.

In the month of May in 2017, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee under the supervision of the then Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh also initiated a drive to press the government to hand over the site to the community for re-building the gurdwara.

During his visit to Golden Temple, the SGPC secretary Manjit Singh Batth again raised the issue with him on behalf of the SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal. The CM assured him to meet the long pending demand.

After paying obeisance at sanctum sanctorum, he performed ‘sewa’ (voluntarily service) of cleaning utensils and also partook langar at Langar hall (community kitchen) at Golden Temple where he was felicitated with ‘siropa’ (robe of honour), replica of shrine and a set of the books on Sikhism by the officials of the gurdwara body.

Speaking on the newly launched daily flight, he said this would be big facility for the Sikh pilgrims of Punjab as many Sikh shrines such as Hemkunt Sahib, Gurdwara Nanak Matta and Gurdwara Reetha Sahib are situated in Uttrakhand. Besides, the Sikh community lives in the state in sizeable number, he said.

Replying to query on the statement made by some Congress leaders in favour of Ram Mandir proposed to be built in Ayodhya, he said, “Everybody remembers Bhagwan Ram in his last phase of life”.

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from Sikh Siyasat News http://bit.ly/2FN5jzj