AMBALA: A significant: meeting between the Prime Minister Mr Chandra Shekhar and an SGPC delegation which was scheduled to be held at New Delhi Feb 12 could not materialize as the SGPC General Secretary Mr Bir Singh failed to turn up.

The five-member SGPC delegation led by its President Mr Baldev Singh Sibia was to leave Chandigarh on Tuesday morning for the Capital to meet the Prime Minister to sort out the long pending Sikh issues and the SGPC affairs.

The SGPC Secretary Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta said on his return from Chandigarh that all five members were to collect at Chandigarh. But as one of the important members Mr Bir Singh could not turn up it was decided to postpone the appointment with the Prime Minister.

Mr Manjit Singh insisted that Mr Bir Singh had failed to join the delegation because he was on a visit to Rajasthan. Like other members the General Secretary was informed well in time about the meeting with the Prime Minister he added.

However according to reliable sources Mr Bir Singh’s absence was due to internal differences that have cropped up in the SGPC over the issue of holding a meeting with the Prime Minister in the present situation. Some of the executive members it is learnt had expressed themselves against such a meeting which they felt could send “wrong signals” to militants about the SGPC’s intentions. Though the delegation would not have discussed any politics with the Prime Minister such a meeting could have had a political reflection not conducive for the “Panth” sources say.

Mr Manjit Singh said the Prime Minister’s office was informed Feb 12 only over the telephone by the SGPC President about the circumstances under which the SGPC delegation could not reach New Delhi.

He said the SGPC would seek a fresh appointment with the Prime Minister. This is the second time that the proposed meeting between Prime Minister and the SGPC had failed to take place. Earlier in November the SGPC’s scheduled meeting with then Prime Minister Mr V.P.Singh did not take place because of the political situation in the country.

SGPC chief stated that there had been no invitation from the union government to the SGPC “The SGPC would consider the invitation as and when it comes” he said.

The SGPC chief maintained that the union government was aware of the demands of the Sikhs in general and the SGPC in particular.

There had been no elections to the SGPC general house since 1979 Besides the Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Ranjit Singh was still in jail without trial. On the other hand those responsible for the 1984 riots had not been punished.

The union government was yet to return a number of important documents it took in its possession from the Sikh reference library at Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar. Many rare documents and books had been destroyed.

Mr Sibia said the SGPC had been demanding an independent radio station for relay of gurbani from Harminder Sahib. Similarly Sikh pilgrims going to Pakistan should be regulated by SGPC Singh Sabhas or other Sikh organisations but not by private institutions and organisations.

He pointed out that the SGPC had been urging the union government to take up with the British Government to return of certain articles used by Guru Gobind Singh lying in a museum there. The SGPC also wanted Nankana Sahib to be declared a Vaticanlype city.

The income from Gurdwara’s and its property in Pakistan should be used only for the development of facilities and maintenance of these shrines in that country.

He demanded immediate withdrawal of security forces from the periphery of the Golden Temple.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 1, 1991