The Akal Takht secretariat on Wednesday said the BJP was indulging in a propaganda by falsely claiming that Sikhs were converting to other religions. Akal Takht spokesperson Jaskaran Singh said Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargaj’s statement denying it was in reaction to the BJP claims. Advertisement Addressing a congregation at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi, Gargaj had said the narrative claiming that Sikhs were converting to other religions was “completely false”. He had said that a true Sikh never changed his faith and was ready to lay down his life for it. Advertisement He had stressed that efforts must be made to propagate Sikh teachings, and it was incorrect to blame the entire community if some individuals, due to lack of understanding, went astray. Advertisement The statement had come almost a year after Gargaj launched a drive to counter religious conversions. He had launched the campaign from Gurdwara Janam Asthan Bhai Jeewan Singh in Gaggo Mahal village of Ajnala on April 16. Baba Jeewan Singh, contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh, was believed to be from the Mazhabi community. At that time, a statement issued from the Akal Takht had mentioned that the aim of the campaign was to counter the growing influence of Christian preachers and pastors. Amarjit Singh, former director of the Centre for Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Guru Nanak Dev University, said Gargaj was absolutely right that true Sikhs never deserted their religion. He said the British annexed Punjabi in 1849 and they set up three churches at Amritsar, Ajnala and Jandiala by 1853. “There had not been major conversions in initial 150 years and the conversion became a major issue in the past 25 years,” he added. Jagrup Singh Sekhon, former Professor, Guru Nanak Dev University, said religion conversion was an issue but it was raised under political compulsions