Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj on Monday called people to stand up against caste bias as he condemned the alleged discrimination against Haryana-cadre IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who recently committed suicide.
He said the tragic incident was a glaring reflection of the centuries-old caste bias prevailing in India and the practice deserved the strongest condemnation. “Despite the constitutional guarantee of equal rights to all communities, many people continue to face discrimination,” he said.
He called for collective unity to counter caste-based discrimination and hate propaganda. Gargaj said the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat for the Sikhs, stood firmly against casteism and any form of discrimination. He said according to the Sikh Gurus’ philosophy, all human beings were equal and it was deeply concerning that caste-based prejudices still surfaced.
Jathedar Gargaj said the Golden Temple and its sacred Amrit Sarovar were living examples where anyone could pay obeisance, take holy bath and partake of langar.
Mann claimed that a new benchmark of public service delivery had been set as compensation was distributed 15 days ahead of the scheduled 45-day deadline.
Meanwhile, activists of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, staged a protest near the state-run sugar mill at Bhala village, the venue for Mann’s event. Earlier, the police allowed farmers an opportunity to hold a peaceful protest along the road leading to the sugar mill. After some time, complaining of not getting answers to their questions, the farmers moved to the venue to seek answers from the CM pertaining to “inadequate relief”.
The police, citing security reasons, stopped them. After brief arguments, officials assured farmers that their concerns would be conveyed to Mann, but before any interaction could take place, he left in a helicopter. During the ceremony, the CM said starting Tuesday, Cabinet ministers would begin giving compensation in the remaining 19 districts, covering a total of 825 villages.
Mann claimed that a new benchmark of public service delivery had been set as compensation was distributed 15 days ahead of the scheduled 45-day deadline.