Mann again asks Dhami: why grant exclusive gurbani telecast rights to Badal’s private channel

Mann said what objections the SGPC president has if the universal message of ‘Sarbat da Bhala’ (welfare of all) is disseminated through the ‘Sarb Sanji Gurbani’ across the globe. He has asked Dhami to explain what was more important – spreading the message of Gurbani or “extending largesse to their blue-eyed channel”.

Mann was speaking after laying foundation stones for setting up tehsil complexes at Dirba and Cheema in Sangrur.

The chief minister on Sunday had criticised the extension of rights to telecast the sacred hymn at the Golden Temple to the TV channel owned by the Badal family and offered to pay all expenses for its telecast across channels free of cost.

Reacting sharply, Dhami had told CM that the apex gurdwara body was capable of managing the ‘Guru Ghars’ without his intervention.“Do not create unnecessary controversy and confusion in the Sangat by tweeting about the Gurbani broadcast or ‘Guru Ghar’ matters. The jurisdiction related to ‘Panthic’ works undertaken by a Sikh organisation and the Qaum (community) are different and the domain of a government is different. Your government is proving to be a failure pertaining to the jurisdiction of a government,” Dhami had tweeted.

The SGPC chief also sought to draw CM’s attention towards the poor state of the heritage street and roads leading to the Golden Temple. “No attention is being paid…Put money where it is meant to be spent. Do not confound the ‘qaum’ by unnecessarily speaking about expenditure on telecast of Gurbani,” Dhami said.

On Monday, Mann said the SGPC chief president Harjinder Singh Dhami told him that he should not interfere in religious matters.

“If somebody speaks about freeing the Badals’ channel hold on the telecast of Gurbani then it is considered as interference in religious matters and if SGPC chief Dhami seeks votes for SAD candidate in Jalandhar (Lok Sabha) poll, then is a personal decision,” said Mann.

“The SGPC chief should reply to this after asking Badals. I know you take all directions from them,” he said.

Mann said it is unfortunate that the SGPC is acting “like a puppet in the hands of the Badal family and is being used by them for fulfilling their political designs.” He accused the Badals of misusing the committee for stalling the ambitious project of the medical college at Mastuana Sahib, which could have transformed the fortunes of the people of the region.

These people have no interest in the well-being of the people but they are always bothered about their vested political interests, he said.