Amritsar : The Sikh Federation (Bhindranwala) has questioned Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami whether he undermines the authority of the directions issued by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, by seeking police action in addition to the Takht’s directives.Bhai Ranjit Singh, president of the Sikh Federation (Bhindranwala), said on Wednesday that recently, under Dhami’s leadership, the SGPC passed a resolution demanding the registration of an FIR against Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann over the alleged disrespect of portraits of the Ten Sikh Gurus and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He urged the officiating Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, to ask Dhami whether he has no faith in the authority and decisions of the Akal Takht. “Does he consider legal proceedings to be above the authority of the Akal Takht Sahib?” he asked.Stating that Bhagwant Mann had already been declared guilty of offending the Guru and the Panth by the Akal Takht, Ranjit Singh said, “What greater punishment or stigma could there be for him?”Meanwhile, Giani Gargajj said that law should not be confined merely to the offender, but should also address the root cause of the crime, adding that the biggest shortcoming of the government’s ‘Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment)’ Bill, 2026, is that while it deals with the offense of sacrilege, it fails to address the factors that give rise to such acts. “This issue was also highlighted seriously during the gathering held at the secretariat of Akal Takht on June 29. Sikh scholars, Panthic thinkers, legal experts and the Sangat should deliberate seriously on this issue and write about it. A law should be framed that not only punishes offenders but also eradicates the very roots of sacrilege,” he said. He, however, clarified that no interference in the internal religious affairs of the Sikhs or the Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of Sikh religious conduct) will be allowed under the guise of this law, nor should the law become an obstacle to Sikh religious preaching and propagation, adding that Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji cannot be brought within the ambit of any legal framework.
