SGPC President Dhami meets Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in Delhi ahead of Op Blue Star anniversary

Aayush Goel

With just a few days to go for Operation Blue Star Anniversary, Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“SGPC delegation gave a representation on various issues pertaining to functioning of Gurdwaras and other SGPC matters, including inclusion of Gurdwaras under the management of the SGPC board. The delegation felt that this will streamline the management of the Gurdwaras. The Union home minister assured the leaders of support and cooperation in these matters”, read the statement issued by the Home Ministry. “The matter of compensation was not discussed in the meeting with the Union Home Minister. Our delegation held discussion on many important issues related to the management of Gurdwara Sahibs. He gave assurance to solve the important issues raised by the SGPC,” said Dhami.

Earlier, the SGPC hoped to negotiate a settlement of an over Rs 1,000 crore suit filed for recovering damages caused during Operation Blue Star in 1984 at the Golden Temple. It was almost four years ago that the Delhi High Court requested both parties to negotiate a settlement over the issue. Earlier, this 38-year-old case was opened in the Amritsar Civil Court.

SGPC initially had refrained from repairing its headquarters for 32 years in order to preserve the evidence of the damage caused by Operation Blue Star for the compensation case pending in court. The repairs to the SGPC headquarters were finally carried out in 2017, following the video recording of the bullet marks and other damage caused by the Army’s action.

In 2013, the SGPC, after years of resistance, had deposited Rs 10 crore as court fee required for compensation claims, enabling the case to proceed. On July 24, 2019, an order by Delhi High Court asked both parties to advance the talks so that a settlement can be worked out if possible before the next hearing. There were no hearings on the case between December 2019 and April 2022 owing to Covid. The next hearing is scheduled for September 5.

The Akal Takht will observe the 39^th Anniversary of Operation Blue Star on June 6.