Amritsar – Snubbing the Akal Takht call to keep mum, Damdami Taksal Head Harnam Singh Dhumma said he would consider it only if Dhadrianwale issued an apology in public for defaming the Damdami Taksal.
Dhumma said Dhadrianwale was misleading people by saying that he had issues with me and not with the Damdami Taksal.
“If he has targeted the head of an organisation, doesn’t this mean the organisation is also being attacked? He questioned. “
The problem is that Dhadrianwale is not admitting to his mistake. If Dhadrianwale feels that what he said was wrong and apologises for it, we can think of a patch-up, added Dhumma.
Dhumma held a meeting with various Sikh organisations at the Taksal headquarters, Gurdwara Gurdarshan Parkash, at chowk Mehta and slammed the government and questioned where was the Akal Takht jathedar when Dhadrianwale was making objectionable remarks against the “dastar” (turban) of the Taksal..
Flays Akal Takht jathedar
“Akal Takht had remained a mute spectator during the recent incidents of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib. Sikh maryada is being violated with impunity, but no action is taken. Even Dhadrianwale has been issuing derogatory statement against the Damdami Taksal for the past four years, but no note was ever taken by the Jathedar who is responsible for the unrest among the Sikh community. Had Jathedar been vigilant about such incidents, the ongoing crisis could have been averted,” he said.
Accusing the SAD government of “playing vote bank politics and initiating a biased probe”, Dhumma alleged that Taksal supporters were subjected to third degree torture by the police whereas Dhadrianwale’s supporters enjoyed political patronage. “Though I had no prior knowledge of the attack on Dhadrianwale, I will support those arrested for their alleged involvement,” he said.
“We met Taksal supporters in police custody. They were given inhuman treatment even as not a single question was raised over the role of armed Dhadrianwale’s supporters who had also opened fire during the clash near Ludhiana. This clearly depicts the one-sided action by the police at the behest of the SAD government,” he alleged.
Dhumma said several Sikh preachers had attracted the attention of political parties which wanted to woo their supporters. “Unfortunately, there is a lot of political interference in Sikh religious affairs,” he said.
Others present on the occasion included Ishar Singh, son of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Maan Singh, Nihang Singh, Darshan Singh Gurdaspur, Harjeet Singh Harchowal, Harjit Singh Nanaksar and Satnam Singh Jaffarwal.