Takht, SGPC flay RSS chief

Amritsar, Punjab: The Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) are feeling offended over the reported statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in which he had said that all citizens of Hindustan were Hindus.

Reacting to these remarks here on Tuesday, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said, “We have repeatedly made it clear that Sikhs are a separate community. People like Bhagwat should refrain from making such statements that can endanger the secular fabric of the country.”

Meanwhile, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, too, has criticised these comments and demanded that the government must taken action against the RSS chief for making such “irresponsible” statements. Such comments could endanger the unity and integrity of the country, he added.

In a statement released from the SGPC headquarters, Makkar pointed out that India is a secular and multilingual nation in which Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and members of other communities live together. The Constitution gaves the right to its citizens to worship the religion they like and in which way they like, provided they did not hurt the religious feelings of others, he added.

“Bhagwat seems to be mixing nationality with religion. We may be all Hindustanis, but at the same time, we are Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims,” added Makkar.

Source: HT