Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Friday said the Shiromani Akali Dal’s “U-turn” following a row over the naming of the martyrdom day of younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh has proved that the party was “neither sincere towards religious nor Sikh heritage”.
The Chief Minister made the comment after he, along with his wife, paid obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib on the second day of the Shaheedi Sabha here.
Addressing the media, the CM first refused to take political queries but then reacting to the row regarding the naming of the martyrdom day as Veer Bal Diwas said the decision was taken by the BJP-led Centre and “publicly supported by the SAD” in a post on X. “Now, under public pressure, the party has taken a U-turn,” he added.
Reacting to the CM statement, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema accused him of “playing petty politics”.
“When the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Akal Takht have demanded repeatedly to rename Veer Bal Diwas, it does not make any difference what the SAD says,” he said.
“In any case, the decision was taken by the Centre,” he added. Earlier, the officiating Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, had sought that the martyrdom day be renamed as “Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas”.
Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also asked the Centre to rename the day, saying the current name misrepresented Sikh ethos and tenets. The martyrdom day of Guru Gobind’s younger sons Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh — who were bricked alive in Sirhind — was named as Veer Bal Diwas in 2022 by the Centre.
The Shaheedi Sabha or Jor Mela is the annual congregation that is held from December 25 to 27 in the memory of the Guru’s sons and their grandmother Mata Gujri.
Earlier in the day, the CM said the supreme sacrifice made by the younger Sahibzadas at such a young age hardly found any parallel in world history.
He said Fatehgarh Sahib as a sacred land was a source of inspiration not only for the Sikhs but for the entire humanity. “It inspired Punjabis to fight against injustice and oppression,” he added. Later, Mann stopped along the route and partook of langar.
Muslims from Malerkotla too organised a langar. They served sweet yellow rice, terming it as a symbol of respect to Guru Gobind Singh, saying he had once tasted yellow rice offered by the Muslim community.
Guv pays respects
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib.
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria paid obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib. He said the unparalleled sacrifice of the Sahibzadas and Mata Gujri was being remembered with humility in the entire country