Mr Mann said he runs no channel of his own and is not asking for the rights to be given to his channel.

New Delhi:

Gurbani is for all and I want to ensure that everyone can hear and see it on any channel they like, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said as the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was passed in the state assembly today.

The bill adds a section in the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, to make the broadcast of Gurbani free for all. Mr Mann said the bill also has a clause that no channel airing Gurbani – which has been broadcast from the Harmandir Sahib in the morning and evening since 1998 – can run any advertisements half an hour before or after it airs. 

The broadcast rights have been with the PTC network, owned by the politically powerful Badal family, since 2007. The network pays the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) – which administers the Harmandir Sahib – Rs 2 crore annually for this.

Speaking in the Assembly after tabling the bill, Mr Mann attacked the Badals and said he runs no channel of his own. “I am not asking for the telecast rights to be given to my channel. So why do the Badals have a problem?”

He said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has claimed that Gurbani has always been free to air. “If that is so, why does every channel not broadcast it,” Mr Mann asked.