Sukhbir meets Rajnath over Haryana's separate SGPC issue

Accusing Congress of trying to meddle in the religious affairs of Sikhs, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal today called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh here.
Badal briefed Singh that Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in Haryana was stoking a controversy by trying to form a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to manage Gurdwaras in the state.
Badal, who is also Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister, told the Home Minister that Congress was playing a "mischief" to divide and weaken the Sikh community by propping up the demand for a separate SGPC for Haryana.
The SAD leader explained the entire issue to Rajnath Singh, saying there is no need or provocation for Haryana to get involved in religious matters.

He said the Congress was deliberately stoking religious sentiments in an attempt to "split" the Sikh community.
The SAD president also stressed that it should be left to the Sikh community to manage its own religious affairs and that no state government should play politics by meddling in their religious matters.

He described Haryana's attempts of forming a separate Committee as a "political game" being played by Congress.
"The Congress has always been anti-Sikh and it has availed of every conceivable opportunity to divide the community," Badal is quoted as saying in a statement.
He told the Minister that there is "huge resentment" in the Sikh community against the manner in which Congress was "interfering" in Sikhs' affairs and for "politicising" a religious issue.

Rajnath heard Badal and assured him that the Centre would take due care of the concerns of the Sikh community, the statement said.