Congress leader Rawat atones for 'Panj Pyare' remark

AICC general secretary Harish Rawat on Friday atoned for his remark referring to the Punjab Congress leadership as Panj Pyare by offering Kar seva at a famous gurudwara in Uttarakhand.Rawat swept the floors of Nanakmatta gurudwara in Udham Singh Nagar district and cleaned the shoes of devotees to atone for using the term to refer to the Punjab Congress president and four working presidents of the party.He said he had used the word as a term of respect but extends an apology to all for doing so.I have always had deep respect for the Sikh religion and its great traditions.

AICC general secretary Harish Rawat on Friday atoned for his remark referring to the Punjab Congress leadership as ''Panj Pyare'' by offering Kar seva at a famous gurudwara in Uttarakhand.

Rawat swept the floors of Nanakmatta gurudwara in Udham Singh Nagar district and cleaned the shoes of devotees to atone for using the term to refer to the Punjab Congress president and four working presidents of the party.

He said he had used the word as a term of respect but extends an apology to all for doing so.

''I have always had deep respect for the Sikh religion and its great traditions. I apologise again for using the the word even though I had chosen it as a term of respect,'' Rawat said.

In a recent statement, Rawat had referred to Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and four working presidents of the party's state unit as ''Panj Pyare'' drawing the flak of not only the opposition parties but also the Akal Takht Sahib which had described it as a statement hurting religious sentiments.

In Sikh tradition, ''Panj Pyare'' is the term used for five beloved of the Guru. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the ten Gurus, initiated five men into the order of ''Khalsa'' (pure).

''Panj Pyare'' is the name given to five baptised Sikhs who perform a baptism ceremony to initiate Sikhs into the order of the ''Khalsa''.