SGPC seeks ban on liquor stores, tobacco sales near Golden Temple, wants holy city status for Amritsar

“SGPC has agelong been demanding a implicit prohibition connected liquor stores and baccy income astir the cardinal spiritual shrine of the Sikhs, the spiritual halfway of humanity, Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) successful Amritsar, arsenic good arsenic connected the routes starring to it. However, nary due and effectual measures person been taken successful this respect by the authorities government,” reads the letter.

“This deficiency of enactment negatively impacts devotees. Amritsar is simply a ineffable city, known arsenic the City of the Guru, wherever millions of devotees from crossed the state and overseas sojourn daily. It is the government’s work to admit the ambience of Darbar Sahib and assistance the metropolis presumption of a beatified city. With anticipation for afloat cooperation,” it adds.

In November past year, Dr Jagmohan Singh Raju, who resigned arsenic further main caput successful Tamil Nadu to unsuccessfully contention the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections from Amritsar East, excessively had demanded a prohibition connected the merchantability of liquor and baccy products wrong a one-mile radius of the Golden Temple.

Raju’s request had travel 4 decades aft the BJP held a pro-cigarette and beedi march, displaying baccy products, to protestation against a SGPC telephone to state Amritsar beatified city.

In a Facebook post, Raju had said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s authorities has not responded to his practice regarding this demand, prompting him to protestation extracurricular Darbar Sahib for 1 day.

On September 27, 2022, Raju had requested the National Commission for Minorities to nonstop the Punjab authorities to prohibition the merchantability and depletion of liquor and baccy products wrong a one-mile radius of humanities gurdwaras, including the Darbar Sahib.

He besides called for a implicit prohibition connected smoking and drinking successful nationalist places successful the authorities and suggested declaring gurpurabs (days related to Sikh Gurus) arsenic adust days. Additionally, helium projected that liquor vends should run connected alternate days.

The committee issued a announcement to the Mann authorities but it did not respond, according to Raju. On March 29, 2023, helium filed a PIL petition successful the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He subsequently submitted a practice to the Mann authorities successful May 2023.