Punjab cabinet OKs changes for free telecast of Gurbani

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved an amendment to the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act to ensure "free-to-air" telecast of Gurbani from Amritsar's Golden Temple.Chief minister Bhagwant Mann said there is no mention of the word ‘broadcast’ or ‘live telecast’ in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.“The family that controls the SGPC launched a TV channel and the rights of broadcasting Gurbani were bought in 2012 for a period of 11 years. They wanted to cash in on religious sentiments associated with Gurbani and the viewers had no option but to subscribe to their channel,” he claimed.“When we raised the issue why Gurbani is not free-to-air and free of cost, the SGPC said tenders will be floated. The agreement with the Badals is ending in July 2023 and we consulted top lawyers so that the existing agreement is not repeated for another decade. Just the way gurdwaras were freed from ‘masands’, we want to free Gurbani from these ‘modern masands,’” the CM added.The SGPC, which was constituted by Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925, was entrusted with the task of spreading the message of Gurbani, had forgotten its duty while acting as a “stooge” in the hands of their master family, said Mann. Referring to SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami, Mann said, “This is a State Act. I am surprised that he said that the Centre should decide. On one hand, they want all decisions to be taken here as per the Anand- pur Sahib resolution and they say AAP’s decisions come from Delhi… They say that Parliament can amend the Act, but it is actually the state which can do so.”“I am not giving broadcast rights to any government agency or to any relative. As a humble Sikh, I have the right to spread the entire sky for spreading the message of the Gurbani. If you go to Guwahati or Hyderabad or Ahmedabad and if there’s no PTC channel in the hotel, you will be deprived of listening to Gurbani,” he said.Mann added that the TV channel that presently has the rights would also get the advantage of getting broadcast rights for free.He said that the channel was not being banned but an effort was being made to make sure that Gurbani reaches everyone. He also questioned Sukhbir Badal whether he was opposing the move as the SAD president or owner of the channel. Hitting out at Sukhbir, Mann alleged, “You remove jathedars at will. You did the maximum damage.”He said it was surprising that the SGPC’s acting president was removing the acting jathedar of the Akal Takht just because he didn’t toe the line of the master family. “They want to bid on Gurbani so that the richest channel gets the rights and we are forced to be its subscribers. Why don’t you make it free to air? Half-anhour before and after the live cast, there will be no advertisement on the screen. It may be YouTube, web channels or radio channels,” he said.Replying to a question aboout the SGPC polls, Mann claimed that his state government was taking legal advice, and even though Justice SS Saron (retd) was appointed chief commissioner of the Gurdwara Elections, he was waiting for staff.