AMRITSAR, July 5 : The SGPC on Friday took strict notice of recent comments made in Parliament by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleging that he linked ‘abhay mudra’ with the ideology of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Shromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also ordered prohibiting any artist or actor from doing videography for their promotion at the Golden Temple complex, a move which came days after fashion designer Archana Makwana performed yoga at Harmandar Sahib.
These decisions were taken at the executive committee meeting of the SGPC held here.
“Referring to Guru Nanak, Rahul Gandhi said that Guru Sahib’s image shows Abhay Mudra, is completely wrong. In the resolution, it was clarified that Guru Sahib did not recognize any such mudra or asana, instead, refuting such phenomenon, he taught to connect with only one ‘Akal Purakh’ (Timeless Being),” said the SGPC statement.
While taking strict notice of the comments made by Gandhi in Parliament regarding philosophy and image of Guru Nanak Dev, the SGPC said the holy Gurbani and teachings of the Gurus should not be made part of political debates without full knowledge.
The resolution passed in this regard said often the basic principles of the Gurus and the meaning of the holy Gurbani are also misinterpreted by political people, which hurts the sentiments of Sikhs.
Through the resolution, the SGPC appealed to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairperson to ensure that no one’s religious sentiments are hurt during the proceedings of Parliament.
On July 1, Gandhi, while speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address quoted Prophet Muhammad to highlight that the Quran talks about fearlessness. When hands are raised in “dua”, the “abhay mudra” can also be observed in a way, he added.
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness.
He had also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said “daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)”.
“Shivji says ‘daro mat, darao mat’, shows the ‘abhay mudra’ (the right hand held upright with the palm facing outwards), talks about ‘ahimsa’, but those who call themselves Hindus indulge in hatred, violence and untruths round the clock,” Gandhi had said, pointing towards the BJP MPs.
Fashion designer Makwana was booked for “hurting religious sentiments” by performing yoga at the Golden Temple complex on June 21, International Yoga Day.
She was booked under section 295-A (deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Makwana, however, had apologised for her actions and said she never intended to hurt anyone’s religious sentiment.
Speaking about the incident, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said every religious place has its own rules and deliberate actions are not forgivable.
In a statement, the SGPC president said in future, rules will be laid down regarding photography and videography at Harmandar Sahib.
However, with immediate effect, orders have been issued prohibiting any artist or actor from doing videography for their promotion, he said.
The SGPC chief said the executive committee also passed a resolution condemning the alleged “hateful” comments made by BJP’s MP Kangana Ranaut.
He slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for not taking action on Kangana’s “anti-Punjab hate speech”.
Last month, Kangana was slapped by a CISF woman constable at the Chandigarh airport. Later in a video message, the actor had said, “I am safe but my concern is that terrorism and extremism are increasing in Punjab… How do we handle that?”
The SGPC also approved the appointment of two ‘Granthi Singhs’ for Harmandar Sahib.
It also sought action against the officials in the case of alleged harassing and forcing a ‘Amritdhari’ Sikh candidate to remove ‘Kakaars’ (Sikh symbols of faith) in the judicial examination in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur recently.
The SGPC president said forcing the initiated Sikh candidates to remove the ‘Kakaar’ is discrimination against Sikhs.
A Sikh woman from Ambala had claimed that she was asked to remove ‘Kakaars’ when she went to Jodhpur to appear in a preliminary examination for direct recruitment as civil judge. (PTI)
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