Top Sikh clerics on Tuesday met to decide the future course of action against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the wake of an apology tendered by him for dressing like Guru Gobind Singh.
The Sikh high priests have called for a Punjab bandh on May 22.
The action came a day after the Dera Sacha Sauda expressed regret over "the chain of events" leading to violence in Punjab and said its head never intended to imitate Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru.
The matter was raised by Dr Rattan Singh, member of Lok Sabha from Tarn Taran and Saranjit Singh Dhillon, who alleged that the Congress party was behind engineering violence against the Akalis.
One person was killed on Friday in firing by a bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, which is at loggerheads with the Sikh clergy, during clashes between Sikhs and supporters of the group in a mall in a north-east Mumbai suburb, police said. The clashes occurred during a visit by Singh in the Nirmal Lifestyles mall in suburban Mulund late on Friday evening, they said.
Talking about the earlier two apologies sent by the Dera Sacha Sauda, Vedanti described them as mere 'press notes' and alleged the language used in the text was not proper.
Who controls the government in Punjab?
'We have become the other version of Taliban or Islamic State. There is no difference. Our levels are lower, but we are getting there.' 'If you say we are better than Pakistan, then I am sorry to say that we are as bad as Pakistan and Afghanistan.'
The Dera had approached the apex court last Friday after the Akal Takht, the highest religious body of Sikhs, served an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down all Deras in the state by May 27.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has apologised for dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh.
As the Sikh's highest temporal seat gave an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down the Deras by May 27, it rejected the regret expressed by Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
The Punjab government on Saturday decided to put a ban on the screening of the controversial movie 'Messenger of God' featuring Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, in apprehension of breach of peace.
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Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha committees had recommended that their suspension be withdrawn after they expressed regret for their conduct during the Winter session when their relentless protests prompted the Chairs to take action.
If we accept that there is a challenge in Punjab today, any realistic progress can only be made if the rest of the country, especially the government and the ruling party, engage with this sense of grievance, points out Shekhar Gupta
Even as the home ministry sent out alerts to states over Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim's movie, Messenger of God, the Censor Board has refused to certify the film taking exception to the spiritual leader depicting himself as god on the silver screen.
'Gurmeet Ram Rahim's political clout inhibited the chief minister, affected the bureaucracy and restricted the police.'
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The Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Community Party of India-Marxist have all called for the resignation of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar following the violence that broke out after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim on Friday.
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M Nageswar Rao, who took over the duties and functions of CBI director late on Tuesday night, appointed Satish Dagar as superintendent of police to probe the case, they said.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim also made an appeal to his followers to go back to their homes, a development which may come as a big relief to security personnel.
Ahead of the pronouncement of the sentence, police have left nothing to chance and have taken important functionaries of the sect, who could gather followers, into preventive custody.
Post the judgment, many people blasted him for the tweet. "After this shameless tweet people should boycott his film," one of the Twitter users wrote. "This was a shameful way of promoting your film. For god sake can you get considerate," another tweet read. Another user wrote, "I mean like such a ungentlemanly gesture."
The court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithi Singh a resident of Baghapurana and Amardeep Singh and Mithu Singh, both residents of Malke village.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP from Hyderabad, chanted "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind", after members from the ruling side shouted slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.
The Dera's sprawling headquarters include an ostentatious '7-star MSG resort' with replicas of Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Kremlin and Disney World inside.
'I want to assure the country that no country, no government can tolerate anybody taking the law into their hands, whether it is an individual or a group.'
The high court also took note of Khattar's statement on Friday in which he blamed anti-social elements for the violence, which also spilled over into neighbouring Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi.
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