New Delhi: A day ahead of the crucial Punjab elections and the Lok Sabha byelections in Amritsar Parliamentary Constituency, the BJP candidate for the seat, Navjot Singh Sidhu, landed in a mess by performing a fire ritual, which is forbidden in the faith.
Sidhu is seeking re-election from the constituency in Tuesday's vote after he resigned as a BJP MP from the seat on December 1 last year following his conviction in a road-rage case, necessitating the current round of bypolls.
But the popular cricketer-turned-politician and television star came under Sikh fire on Monday for performing a 'havan' in his house.
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, which is controlled by leaders opposed to Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, has written to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of the faith, accusing the former cricketer of religious wrongdoing.
DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, who defeated the SAD for a second time in committee elections last month, also demanded in a statement that the SGPC, the top Sikh religious administration controlled by Badal's SAD, take action against Sidhu.
Sarna cited the SGPC's previous complaints to several tele-serial producers over depiction of Sikh characters in fire rituals and object worship.
Sarna, who accuses the SAD-BJP combine of promoting Sangh ideology in the Sikh-majority state, recalled that supporters of Badal had opposed a DSGMC-organised trans-border procession to Nankana Sahib in 2005 on grounds it had a gilded palanquin as one of its main features.
"Those who were opposed to the palki procession should now take a stand on Navjot Singh Sidhu," the statement said.
(With agency inputs)
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