Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Dera Sacha Sauda finally apologised over the row surrounding the alleged blasphemous act against 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, even as a deadline set by the Akal Takht for the Dera Sacha Sauda sect to vacate its campuses in the state ends on Sunday evening.
The apology was, however, addressed to Guru Gobind Singh, and not Akal Takht, as the supreme Sikh body had been demanding.
The Akal Takht, the supreme spiritual and temporal seat of Sikhs, will meet in Amritsar on May 29 to discuss the apology tendered by Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh for his alleged blasphemy of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
PTI quoted an Akal Takht spokesman as saying that the meeting will take place on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier, reacting to the apology containing in a media statement issued by Sirsa-based Dera, Akal Takht jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti said the five high priests will take a decision on the Dera's gesture.
He said, "First, the apology letter must be signed by the Dera head than a meeting of the Sikh clergy will be convened to decide the next course of action."
A press release issued by Dera Sacha Sauda on Sunday evening said: "Dera Sacha Sauda apologises to Sri Gobind Guruji for the sake of humanity."
"We can't even think of copying him," the press release states referring to the controversy surrounding a newspaper advertisement which showed the chief of the Dera sect, Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheem, dressed as the 10th Sikh Guru - Guru Gobind Singh - and distributing amrit (holy water) to people. The standoff had resulted in large-scale violence in Punjab over the past week.
Earlier on May 20, the sect had issued a similar press release, saying it regretted the newspaper ad which showed its chief dressed as Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, which led to sectarian clashes across Punjab and parts of North India.
"We never intended to imitate Guru Gobind Singh and we are regretful of the whole chain of events," a press release issued by the sect’s PR department in Sirsa had said.
Meanwhile, nearly 100,000 Punjab police personnel and over 40 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed across Punjab on Sunday as the deadline set by the Akal Takht for the Dera sect drew to a close. Security forces were on high alert particularly in the cotton-rich Malwa belt of south Punjab and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar.
The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, had set the Sunday deadline for the Dera, protesting the actions of sect chief, whose actions, they say, have hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs.
While the state remained tense, there were no indications of the Dera vacating any of its campuses. The sect is rather planning to move the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking protection for the Deras.
Dera has campuses at Salabatpura, the biggest campus of the sect in Punjab located 30 km from Bathinda, Malout, Sangrur and Sunam; all of which have been virtually fortified by the police and Border Security Force to prevent any clashes.
(With agency inputs)
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