Jatehdar of the Akal Takht (Highest Sikh Temporal Seat) Gyani Gurbachan Singh has issued directions to all the SGPC candidates contesting elections and their family members to come at Akal Takht to become baptised Sikh by August 25th.
The Jatehdar on Tuesday said that if candidate and his/her family members were not baptised, he or she could be declared ineligible candidate besides religious action from Akal Takht. He said that SGPC was a religious body since it manages Sikh Gurdwaras (Sikh shrines) and related religious affairs and here it was mandatory for the all candidate belonging to all political parties and its family members to be baptised Sikh besides following the Sikh religious tenets strictly in letter and sprit.
Gurbachan Singh said that elections of SGPC were meant to run the Sikh religious body (SGPC) with Sikh customs and to take the message of Sikhism across the world. On Monday, senior Sikh advocate practicing in the supreme court, H.S. Phoolka along with 40 Sikh organisations, held a marathon meeting with Jatehdar Akal Takht in this regard wherein the baptisation of family members of contesting SGPC candidates was discussed seriously and thereafter, the Jatehdar had made up his mind to issue directions for all candidates and their family members to adopt Sikhism as per the Sikh tenets before they contest elections.
