With the SGPC pushing the Bluestar memorial controversy to the back-burner and the Akal Takht yet to take any conclusive decision on the issue,SAD Amritsar president Simranjit Singh Mann and his supporters brought the row back into the limelight on Saturday the death anniversary of Beant Singh assassin Dilawar Singh. They turned the golak (donation box) inside the memorial to ensure that Sikh militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawales name that has been engraved on it is visible to visitors. After a controversy had erupted over naming of the memorial after Bhindrawale,allegedly against the wishes of the SGPC,the golak was placed in such a way so as to hide Bhindrwales name from devotees entering the memorial. Mann and his supporters,who had come to the Golden Temple in connection with the Dilawars 18th death anniversary on Saturday,turned the face of the golak. Till the filing of this report in the evening,the face of the golak remained in a position which made Bhindrawales name visible. It hardly makes any difference if Mann and his supporters have changed the direction of the golak. We will replace the golak with a new one. I will look into the matter, said Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar while reacting to the development. Mann,however,defended his actions. Bhai Dilawar Singh is our martyr and so is Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, he said before adding: The SGPC will have to pay a heavy price for hiding the name plate of Bhindrawale. SAD and SGPC are playing the Hindutva game. These people have been rejected by Sikhs in the United States and Canada. Now,even the Gujarat Sikhs have rejected them. A row had erupted after the memorial,which was unveiled in April this year,was found to have been dedicated to Bhindrawale and others who were killed after the Army carried out Operation Bluestar to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple. SGPC had cried foul that Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal,which was entrusted with the task of building the memorial,had kept it in the dark over naming the memorial after Bhindrawale. Though SGPC insisted that it was supposed to be a gurdwara not dedicated to anyone,radical Sikh organization Dal Khalsa had added a new twist by producing a SGPC resolution where SGPC itself had said that the memorial would be dedicated to Bhindrawale. A wall clock bearing photo of Bhindrawale was also installed when the memorial was unveiled on April 27,but was removed after the controversy.
