Chandigarh, India - The management of Sikh shrines in Pakistan has become a contentious issue among political leaders in Indian Punjab with accusations of meddling in religious affairs.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday said he had not told the Pakistan government or the government in Pakistan's Punjab that the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) - the mini-parliament of Sikh religion in India - not be recognised for managing Sikh shrines inside Pakistan.
The SGPC manages all Sikh shrines in Indian Punjab - including the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar - and was linked to the management of other Sikh shrines across India and globally.
Several Sikh shrines inside Pakistan - like Nankana Sahib and Panja Sahib - are visited by hundreds of Sikhs from India and other parts of the world throughout the year.
Last year, the management of these shrines was entrusted to the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PGPC), a body not recognised by the SGPC.
Amarinder Singh's political opponent and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Parkash Singh Badal had Monday accused the chief minister of interfering with the religious affairs of Sikhs.
He quoted Amarinder Singh as saying the SGPC be kept out of Sikh shrines in Pakistan.
Amarinder Singh said he had told his Pakistan Punjab counterpart Pervaiz Elahi that the voluntary work (Kar Sewa) at Sikh shrines in that country be entrusted to Sikh devotees from across the globe and not just the SGPC.
The chief minister charged the SGPC of pulling down historic Sikh monuments in the guise of 'kar sewa' and failing to preserve their age-old architectural grandeur.
He said he had not taken up the issue of Sikh shrines with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf during his visit there last month.