In a bid to hang on to the Sikh vote bank in his home turf, Khurana has suddenly taken the initiative to revive the Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee's long-standing demand on exempting Sikh women from wearing helmets.

Addressing a press conference, Khurana today said: ``I met the Union Home Minister on this issue. It was decided that since it is not possible to identify Sikh women, all women will be exempted from wearing helmets.'' When asked why the safety of women was being pushed into the background for religious sentiments, he argued, ``In a lot of cases, sentiments are more important than scientific reasoning.'' The Delhi administration had made it mandatory for women to wear helmets while riding two-wheelers on the orders of the Central government. This resulted in a lot of resentment in the Sikh community, which protested that their religion did not permit women to wear helmets.

When the BJP government was formed at the Centre, the Delhi government and a number of Sikh organisations appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which issued a directive in October last year making helmets optional for Sikh women. On January 19, Khurana wrote to the Lt Governor asking him to make the necessary amendments in the Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules, 1993. ``I have been assured that this will be done by next week,'' he said.