The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which is responsible for the management of Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh, alleged on Friday that chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had entered into Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in an inebriated condition. The organization also sought an apology from the Punjab CM.
Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Punjab’s Bathinda district is a seat of temporal authority of Sikhism, and it is here that in 1705 Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, prepared the full version of the religion’s scriptures called Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
In a release issued in Amritsar, SGPC senior vice president of Raghujit Singh Virk said that the chief minister under the influence of alcohol visited a highly respected spiritual site of the Sikh community and “violated the Sikh rehat Maryada (code of conduct)”. He asked Mann to admit his mistake and apologize to the entire Sikh community.
“The conduct of CM showed that he did not extend the due respect and honor to the Guru Ghar. In this way he lowered the prestige of the constitutional office of CM, too,” the release added.
Bhagwant Mann is known for his love for alcohol and he has been in uncomfortable situations many a time before as well. But now being a Chief Minister of a state is a big responsibility as it is headed by every resident of the state, but Bhagwant Mann is tarnishing the dignity of the post.
If these allegations are true, then it is a clear case of undermining the decency and honor of the Guru’s house. If they cannot stop drinking alcohol then they should refrain from prostrating inside the Guru’s house.
