The Congress and the BJP on Tuesday advised CM Bhagwant Mann not to resort to open defiance of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the Sikhs.
Reacting to Mann dismissing the Akal Takht edict on him, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said while the CM had every right to defend himself and present his point of view, he could have done it without resorting to such defiance which undermines the authority of the institution. “Such confrontation is avoidable,” he remarked.
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He observed that the CM should avoid politicising the matter, warning against pitting the government against the highest temporal authority. “Undermining the authority of the Akal Takht will not be acceptable to any true Sikh,” he added.
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Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon, meanwhile, said Mann should not confront the Akal Takht because those who have done so in the past “were left with nothing”.
“Instead of making statements against the decisions of the Akal Takht or adopting a confrontational approach, he should appear before it as a true Sikh, acknowledge his mistake, and seek forgiveness from the Sikh community,” he added. He further appealed to the ministers, IAS officers and other government employees to refrain from participating in meetings with the CM till he is forgiven by the Akal Takht