New Delhi, India (September 04, 2014): Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has expressed hope that it would be granted go ahead to construct a memorial for the victims of the Sikh Genocide 1984. Earlier the proposal of the memorial was rejected by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
It is notable that the foundation stone of the memorial project was laid at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib by DSGMC in June 2013, with BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj attending the foundation-stone laying ceremony. NDMC had raised objections against the memorial within the premises of Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib.
According to media reports, a month ago, the Delhi Committee had approached Rajnath Singh who is now the Home Minister of India, seeking his intervention to get clearance for the memorial. Rajnath Singh reportedly facilitated a meeting between NDMC chairperson Jalaj Srivastava and Delhi Committee general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
“After laying the foundation stone, neither Rajnath Singh nor Sushma Swaraj were opposed to the memorial. Now that Sheila Dikshit’s Congress government is no longer in power, there is no reason the project won’t come up,” Manjinder Singh Sirsa reportedly said.
As per Indian Express (IE): [a]ccording to government sources, NDMC wrote to the Delhi government on August 26 regarding the construction of the memorial and seeking its advice in the matter. The Delhi government, which still has Lieutenant-Governor General Najeeb Jung at its helm, has asked the Delhi Police to send a report that covers “all aspects” on the matter.
“Dikshit, an NDMC member then, didn’t allow construction of the memorial. Now, with the BJP in power at the Centre and Delhi being without an elected government, the memorial is bound to come up,” Sirsa, the Shiromani Akali Dal MLA from Rajouri Garden, said.
The DSGMC said security of memorial would not be a problem. “The Gurdwara has its own security and all steps will be taken to ensure that neither visitors nor residents of the area face problems,” IE quotes Manjinder Singh Sirsa.