HSGPC ISSUE: Badal calls on PM, Home Minister; also meets Jaitely

Chandigarh/New Delhi, July 19, 2014: A high level parleys to find a solution to the constitutional crisis created by the Haryana Government’s brazen interference in the Sikh religious affairs continued in New Delhi on Friday as the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s residence. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes.
Speaking to the media persons after the meeting, Badal said that the GoI realized that the Haryana government has committed a grave constitutional monstrosity by enacting a law on a subject which does not fall in its jurisdiction. Badal said that he was shocked by the brazenness shown by the Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in confronting not only the Constitution of India but the entire Khalsa Panth and all right people in the country. Badal said with this action, Congress Chief Minister had posed a great danger to the hard earned atmosphere of peace in the state as well as the country.
The Chief Minister said that Hooda was perhaps hoping to divide the Sikhs on this issue, but he will have to face the might of the entire Khalsa Panth all over the world. He said that the Sikhs can have internal differences of opinion on political issues, but on religious issues have the sacrifices made by the predecessors to win the right for ‘sewa sambhal’ of sacred Gurdwaras, the entire ‘Quam’ is united.
Badal also called on the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his office this evening to discuss this issue. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and Badal and Rajnath Singh were joined latter by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and senior officials of Prime Minister’s Office including Minister of State there and the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister.