Dal Khalsa chief slams Amarinder

Taking exception to Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh’s statement favouring voting rights to Sehajdharis,Dal Khalsa chief H S Dhami said that there is a difference in the definition of Sehajdhari and apostate Sikh. “Captain Amarinder Singh is mixing both and thus,creating further confusion. As per his statement,there are 62 lakh Sehajdharis,this is a totally wrong figure. He is mixing two things — the criteria for a SGPC voter is different from that of Assembly,said Dhami.

“Amarinder Singh is advocating that anybody who is born to Sikh parents and has faith in the Sikh religion must have the right to vote in SGPC elections. Here,he forgets that there are certain conditions which one has to fulfill to become a voter in the SGPC elections as according to Sikh Gurdwara Act-1925,a patit Sikh has no right to vote in SGPC elections and this has been the case from day one,he added.

Defranchising Sehajdharis from SGPC elections should not be construed that Sikhs are abandoning any segment of the society,he said. ”The Sikhs took up the issue of Sehajdharis for defranchising when they witnessed that non-Sikhs were interfering in their religious affairs under the garb of Sehajdharis. Since no non-Hindu can enter the Jagannath Temple and no non-Muslim can go to Mecca,similarly,Sikhs will not tolerate non-Sikhs,under any garb,administering their sacred shrines,” he said.