Bhagwant Mann Bats for Free Telecast Rights for Gurbani; SGPC Tells Him off

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Sunday criticised the extending of rights to telecast ‘gurbani’ at the Golden Temple to only one TV channel and offered to pay all expenses for its telecast across channels free of cost.

The SGPC reacted sharply to Mann’s statement, asking him to refrain from creating unnecessary controversy with his tweet, and tried to draw his attention towards the poor state of the heritage street and roads leading to the Golden Temple.

It is not the first time Mann has referred to the issue of telecast of gurbani. Last year too, he had urged the SGPC to allow the telecast of the Golden Temple gurbani at other channels.

Currently, the sacred hymn is being telecast by a private TV channel.

In a statement here on Sunday, Mann said, “this is the need of the hour to disseminate the ‘Sarb Sanji Gurbani’ across the globe with an aim to spread the universal message of ‘Sarbat da Bhala’ (welfare of all).” He said it is strange that only one channel has been given exclusive rights for the telecast of gurbani from Sri Darbar Sahib and that such rights should be given free of cost to all channels rather than confining it to a single channel.

The state government is ready to discharge the duty of bearing all expenses for installing hi-tech equipment for the telecast of ‘Gurbani’ on all the channels, he said.

Mann said the endeavour will go a long way in allowing the ‘sangat’ to listen to gurbani while sitting at their homes even abroad and have a glimpse of Harmandir Sahib on their TV sets.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami told Mann that the apex gurdwara body was very much capable of managing the ‘Guru Ghars’ (Sikhs shrines) without his intervention.

“Do not create unnecessary controversy and confusion in the Sangat by tweeting about the Gurbani broadcast or ‘Guru Ghar’ matters.

“The jurisdiction related to ‘Panthic’ works undertaken by a Sikh organisation and the Qaum (community) are different and the domain of a government is different. Your government is proving to be a failure pertaining to the jurisdiction of a government,” said Dhami in a tweet.

He also spoke about the condition of the corridor of the Golden Temple.

“No attention was being paid towards maintenance of the heritage street and look at the poor condition of roads leading to Harmandar Sahib… Put money where it is meant to be spent. Do not confound the ‘qaum’ by unnecessarily speaking about expenditure on telecast of gurbani,” Dhami said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)