Golden Temple replica row reaches Akal Takht, again

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 6

Once again, the voice against the Gurdwara Singh Sabha structure at Mastuana in Sangrur that has downright resemblance to the Golden Temple has been raised.  

A delegation led by Parshotam Singh Phaguwala, who has repeatedly been launching protest against it, today approached the Akal Takht demanding to summon rebel Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who heads the trust under which this temple and other educational institutions were being run.

Parshotam Singh alleged that Dhindsa has taken over the administrative control of Mastuana property spread in 400 acres, various education institutions in his hands and misusing them for political gains for over a decade.

He resented that despite several representations to the SGPC, observing hunger strikes on many occasions, no action was taken.

“We want Akal Takht’s intervention to take action against raising Golden Temple lookalike, as it hurt the Sikh sentiments. Dhindsa should be summoned at the Akal Takht. He had lost the case against SGPC in gurdwara tribunal but challenged it in High Court. He should be removed from all positions and the charge should be handed over to the SGPC so that need based changes could be made to alter the design of shrine,” he said.

Raising Golden Temple’s replica is also a violation of Akal Takht’s edict pronounced in 1995. The shrine is situated on the premises of Gurdwara Sachkhand Angitha Sahib and took shape partially in 1994. The further construction was stopped for some time but it got carried on in between.

In 2009, Akal Takht had directed the SGPC to get this controversial structure altered by introducing several modifications like filling the ‘sarovar’ with sand and remove the bridge leading to Shine like structure, but  except for closing ‘har ki paudi’, its management never made the mandatory changes in its design as per the 2009 edict of the Akal Takht.