Updated on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 21:56 IST Tags:Sikh, Hooda

Chandigarh: Sikh leaders, demanding setting up of a separate religious body on the lines of the SGPC in Haryana, on Tuesday asked the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government to implement its poll promise in this regard.

"If the separate body is not set up on November one as promised, we will decide our future course of action soon," said Jagdish Jhinda, self-styled president of the so-called Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Parbhandak Committee.

Weeks before Haryana went to polls on October 13, Chief Minister Hooda had said a separate Sikh body would be formed on November one subject to legal hurdles.

"We met Hooda and reminded him of his promise. But, he told us legal opinion is being sought on the matter," Jhinda told reporters here.

Hooda, sworn-in as Chief Minister for the second straight term on Sunday, yesterday said the Chatha committee's report on the issue had been sent for legal opinion.

Sikhs had voted for the Congress in the just-concluded election and "now we are waiting for the government to swiftly make an announcement on the separate body", Jhinda said.

Amritsar-based SGPC, the apex religious body of Sikhs, is opposed to the move to set up a separate body in Haryana.

It alleges the move is an attempt to divide and weaken the Sikh community.

Bureau Report