Punjab Assembly passes bill to ensure free telecast of Gurbani from Golden Temple

Chandigarh: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to ensure free telecast of 'Gurbani' from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Gurbani is a term commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib.

The Bill was immediately taken up for discussion.

On Monday, the Punjab Cabinet approved an amendment to the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 to ensure free-to-air telecast of Gurbani from Amritsar's Golden Temple.

Currently, Gurbani is broadcast from the Sikh shrine by PTC, a private channel often linked to the Shiromani Akali Dal's Badal family.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, had contested the move by the AAP-led Punjab government, saying the 1925 Act is a central legislation and can only be amended by Parliament.

However, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the state government was fully competent to amend this Act. He reasoned that the Supreme Court had on the issue of a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana ruled that this Act was not an inter-state Act, but a state Act.