SGPC defers plan to display portrait of ex-PM in museum
Amritsar, May 24 -- After Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in former chief minister Beant Singh's assassination case, objected to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee move to put up a portrait of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Central Sikh Museum in the Golden Temple complex, the SGPC postponed its decision and said the matter would be reviewed.
"Manmohan Singh represented a political party (Congress) that was responsible for atrocities on Sikhs. He was the Prime Minister of a party behind the Sikh genocide (in 1984). His portrait has no place in a museum that represents the pride and sacrifices of the Sikh community," Rajoana wrote in his letter to the SGPC on Thursday.
After Rajoana's objection, SGPC secretary Pratap Singh said committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami had asked the matter to be put on hold for now. "The SGPC respects the sentiments of the Sikh community and it is important to build a consensus on this issue. The decision to install the portrait will be reviewed again in the executive committee," he said.
During its May 13 meeting, the SGPC executive committee approved the display of the portraits of Giani Mohan Singh, a former head granthi of Harmandar Sahib, former PM Manmohan Singh, Baba Inderjit Singh Raqbewale, Baba Bishan Singh of Tarna Dal, Baba Bakala, and SGPC member Randhir Singh Cheema at the Central Sikh Museum.
The SGPC decision to put up Manmohan Singh's portrait was also opposed by radical Sikh groups, including the Dal Khalsa....
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