As deadline draws close Mann, SGPC butt heads over Gurbani broadcast

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said the Shiroman Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) should clarify about the live broadcast of ‘Gurbani’ from Golden Temple from 24 July onwards as its agreement with a media channel telecasting the Sikh religious hymn is about to end.
The AAP-led state government and the SGPC have locked horns over the live broadcast of the Gurbani from the shrine in Amritsar. While the SGPC asserts that the broadcast rights of the religious hymn should be reserved for the apex Sikh body only, Mann has sought its free telecast on all TV channels.
“SGPC should clarify about the live broadcast of Gurbani from 24 July…All channels should be allowed to broadcast free of cost and free to air…If govt gets opportunity to serve, then we will make all arrangements within 24 hours,” Mann tweeted.
The SGPC’s agreement with GNext Media (a PTC channel), which is currently broadcasts the Gurbani will expire on 23 July. PTC, a private channel, is linked to the Badal family.
On Friday, the SGPC appealed to GNext Media to continue Gurbani broadcast from Sri Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) until the Sikh body’s own satellite channel is established.
The body said it was making the request “in view of the sentiments of the Sikh community and the order given by Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib”. Mann then targeted the the SGPC, saying it is requesting only one private channel to continue broadcasting Gurbani.„
“Why not others?”, he asked. “Will they give the right of Gurbani (broadcast) to one family again for an indefinite period of time through the channel?? There is a limit to greed…,” he said in a tweet.
In a statement issued in the evening , Mann asked the SGPC to explain why it was eager to hand over the telecast rights of Gurbani to only one channel. “Instead of ensuring free to air telecast of Gurbani, the SGPC is trying to find a way for again giving rights to same channel just to appease a powerful family. It is strange that again the SGPC is on a dirty move to favour the blue-eyed channel of the Badals,” he said.
On Friday, SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said the agreement with the PTC channel is expiring on 23 July.