Kaithal town remains tense after HSGMC members take over gurdwara

The situation here is in reverse of Kurukshetra, where men from the Amritsar-based SGPC are present inside the gurdwara and police have banned entry for the other side. With the Supreme Court ordering a status quo on the management of gurdwaras in the state till further orders, the shrine – Gurdwara Shri Patshahi Chhevin Ate Nauvin – is likely to remain under the control of the HSGMC, whose supporters are relieved to finally have a ‘base of our own’.

“Our move to take over the reins of this Gurdwara was well-planned. After diverting the attention to Kurukshetra, our sangat turned up here at 1.50 am on Wednesday after which the staff present inside walked out quickly and quietly. There was no violence. However, as soon as the announcement was made in Kurukshetra, anti-social elements created a law-and-order situation there,” HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda said.

“More than a hundred HSGMC members, many of them armed with sticks and swords, arrived here but did not resort to violence.
However, one of the car belonging to the gurdwara staff was smashed. Those from Punjab quickly left the spot and the police arrived in large numbers at around 4 pm,” said Ajay, an eyewitness.

Sarain Singh Virk, an HSGPC supporter, said, “Look at the condition of this gurdwara. It has around 150 acres of land and more than 50 shops, but nothing has been done to improve its condition. All workers here were from Punjab, only four or five of them were locals and we’ve allowed them to stay. Till now, everything in the Gurdwara has been controlled from Amritsar, but not anymore. We’ll bring accountability into the management. Whenever staffers from Punjab were sent here, they would get voter cards made in Haryana, but the locals knew the truth.”