The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday announced its support to the wrestlers protesting against alleged molestation by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan, at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Terming the matter as one related to the honour and dignity of girls, the Sikh body said that the government should view the issue seriously and take up strict action against the accused person, who is also a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Harjinder Singh Dhami, president, SGPC, said that the government on the one hand talked about ‘Beti Padhao’ and women’s upliftment, while on the other hand, girls who brought Olympic medals for the country were struggling to secure justice in the national capital.
“The Sikh community supports these protesting sportswomen. We will soon send a delegation to meet the protestors in Delhi,” Mr. Dhami said, while speaking to media persons after the SGPC’s executive meet in Amritsar.
At the executive meet, the SGPC also decided to take strict action against sources of “anti-Sikh narratives” spreading “hate” on social media. SGPC members alleged that fake accounts had been created in their names and misinformation was being spread but the police was “not doing anything” even though the issue had been reported several times.
The SGPC also condemned incidents of beadbi (sacrilege) and violation of maryada (honour) of Gurdwara Sahibs in Punjab, and criticised inaction from the government.
At the executive meet, the SGPC has also formed committees for ongoing matters at Gurdwara Guru Dongmar Sahib (Sikkim) and Gurdwara Tapasthan Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Mechuka (Arunachal Pradesh), which would soon hold discussions with the concerned governments.
“As both matters are related to Buddhists, a delegation of the SGPC will also meet the Dalai Lama,” Mr. Dhami added.
The SGPC’s executive committee also discussed the release of Sikh prisoners, and the president of the organisation said that it had filled around 26 lakh pro formas, which would be soon sent to the President of India via the Punjab Governor.
