Punjab CM slams SGPC for dragging feet from live telecast of Gurbani

Chandigarh, July 22 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday slammed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for dragging its feet from the live telecast of the sacred Gurbani just to corner benefit to a blue eyed channel of the Badals.

Interacting with the media here, the Chief Minister said rather than working to ensure that ambrosial nectar of the Gurbani “reaches every household with free-to-air and free-of-cost telecast, the SGPC has made u-turn just to ensure that the telecast rights remains in hands of one single channel”.

He said surprisingly instead of working in the larger interest of humanity, the SGPC is acting on the whims and fancies of the Badal family by inordinately delaying the matter of free telecast of Gurbani.

Mann said the former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib had a year ago batted for launching a channel for free to air telecast of Gurbani but the SGPC has been in deep slumber since then.

The Chief Minister said now also Jathedar in his letter has not named any channel telecast of Gurbani but being ‘more loyal than the king’ the SGPC has asked the same channel to continue just to appease its masters.

He said it is unfortunate that the personal interests of those at the helm of affairs in the SGPC are keeping the ‘sangat’ bereft of Gurbani.

The Chief Minister reiterated that if given a chance the state government can perform ‘sewa’ of making all arrangements of live and free-to-air telecast of Gurbani within 24 hours.

Citing the example of live feed of most government events, he said most of the time the arrangement for it is made within an hour. Mann said this will ensure the free to air telecast of Gurbani on every satellite and web channel that too within seconds, thereby benefitting the masses.

Replying to a query, the Chief Minister said it is ironical that the Governor is not aware that whether a session called by the state is legal or illegal.

He said in the past too the government led by Capt Amarinder Singh had called two such sessions where the nod of the Governor was taken later on.

Mann said the state had called the session after consulting legal luminaries and in consonance with the Constitution.