I have not indulged in any anti-Panth act: Harmohinder Singh Chatha - Times of India

CHANDIGARH: Two days after being excommunicated by the Akal Takht for spearheading the campaign for a separate gurdwara management body in Haryana, finance minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha on Friday said he had not indulged in any act which was against the Panth.

Chatha also said that he had not received any formal communication from Akal Takhat about his excommunication. Chatha was among three Haryana Sikh leaders who were excommunicated by the Akal Takht on Wednesday. The other two were HSGPC ad hoc committee's president Jagdish Singh Jhinda and senior leader Didar Singh Nalvi.

Chatha said Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was among those MLAs who had passed the Punjab Reorganization Bill in 1966 on the basis of which Haryana was carved out of Punjab.

"This clearly shows that he (Badal) himself had approved the creation of a separate Sikh body," Chatha said.

Haryana beefs up security around gurdwaras

As supporters and members of Amritsar-based SGPC started arriving at historical gurdwaras in the state, Haryana police have increased surveillance around them.

SGPC has already sent a special task force to Haryana for taking care of the gurdwaras. It is suspected that the current situation may lead to violent clashes in case the ad hoc committee of Haryana's Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) takes over the gurdwaras.

Sources said that based on intelligence reports about possible agitation and violence, police have started making arrangements to stop any untoward incident.

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