New Delhi; RSS Chief, Union Ministers Attend RSS Conclave here.
More than 100 names have been removed from the blacklist of Sikhs and they can now travel to India, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said in New Delhi on Wednesday. The BJP-led NDA government has always been sensitive to the demands of the Sikh community , including justice for the victims of 1984 riots in Delhi, the Union minister added while speaking at an event organized by the RSS affiliate Rashtriya Sikh Sangat to mark the 350th birth year of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
BJP ally SAD also stayed away from the conclave. So did Akali leaders who contested Delhi assembly or corporation elections on BJP ticket. However, Uttarakhand leader and BJP MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema attended the conclave.While SAD had already issued directions to its leaders to stay away from the conclave and even discussed the issue in its core committee meeting last Saturday , Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh on Monday asked Sikhs to abide by the 2004 directive.
The blacklisted NRI Sikhs are barred from travelling to India due to their alleged ties with Khalistan movement in the 80s and 90s. The list was prepared at different levels by the security agencies. Rajnath also emphasised on the role of Sikhs in safeguarding ancient Indian culture and said they are the “guardians our ethos and value system“. “Guru Gobind Singh and the entire Sikh religion have acted as a shield for our ancient `santana dharam' and culture against attacks from foreign forces,“ he said.
Rashtriya Sikh Sangat general secretary Avtar Singh Shastri said they had taken up the issue of ensuring speedy justice to the anti-Sikh riots victims with Rajnath, by bringing high profile politicians involved in the carnage to justice.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who also attended the multi-faith conclave organized at Talktora Stadium in Delhi, said it was imperative to follow the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Singh to protect the culture of this country . “Without the great Sikh Guru, India would have been much different and mutilated. It was only Guru Gobind Singh who protected the Sanskriti of this country and we are what we are today ,“ he said.
BJP ally SAD also stayed away from the conclave. So did Akali leaders who contested Delhi assembly or corporation elections on BJP ticket. However, Uttarakhand leader and BJP MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema attended the conclave.While SAD had already issued directions to its leaders to stay away from the conclave and even discussed the issue in its core committee meeting last Saturday , Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh on Monday asked Sikhs to abide by the 2004 directive. The directive issued in 2004 asked Sikhs not to cooperate with Rashtriya Sikh Sangat and even termed it as antiSikh.
Interestingly, Takht Patna Sahib jathedar Iqbal Singh, who was to be the presiding dignitary, also stayed away from the function. Union ministers of state Hardeep Singh Puri and Vijay Sampla, Supreme Court Bar Association president Rupinder Singh Suri, BJP national secretary R P Singh, Delhi BJP leader Harsharan Singh Balli and Rajasthan minister Surinder Singh also attended the function. Namdhari sect chief Thakur Dalip Singh, Nirmal Akhara head Sant Gyan Dev Singh were among the prominent attendees.
Sikh Sangat national president Gurcharan Singh Gill said there was so much intolerance in the society that some people did not like to listen to others.He was apparently hinting at the negative propaganda against the organization by different Sikh groups.