Akal Takht-appointed panel to start membership drive today

The committee constituted by Akal Takht on December 2 to supervise the membership drive for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will start its work from Amritsar on Tuesday after performing ardaas at the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs.

“We will sit outside the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) and ask people to become members of the party,” said Gurpartap Singh Wadala, a member of the seven-member committee constituted by the Takht.

Two members of the committee, including SGPC president and former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, have since resigned from the committee, and now, five members, including Wadala, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, Santa Singh Umaidpur and Bibi Satwant Kaur will start the membership drive.

Many SAD leaders have raised objections, with party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema questioning the locus standi and asking for which party the five-member committee is making members.

“The membership form they have printed mentions Akali Dal, a name which doesn’t exist,” said Cheema, adding that SAD offered the committee to take membership forms from them and make members the legal way.

“Where would they deposit the funds collected at the time of making members? To my knowledge, they do not have any bank account opened as the party title they have mentioned has not been registered with the Election Commission of India,” he said.

Countering Cheema, Wadala said that the membership drive is being started in the true spirit of the December 2 edict. “Unnecessary contradictions are being raised by SAD. The Akal Takht, in its edict, has also said that in case of no support from SAD, the committee can start the drive on its own,” Wadala added.

Meanwhile, SAD has extended the last date for the membership drive to March 25 after a review by the parliamentary board and the observers. Cheema said after the process of making members is over, the district unit presidents will be elected, followed by the election of the president and other officebearers.

SAD has been reluctant to accept the Takht edict regarding the membership drive supervised by the seven-member committee, with the party claiming that taking directions from a religious body might lead to disqualification and resumption of the party symbol.

Bhundar calls for unity

SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar gave a call for unity and invited all estranged leaders into the party fold, referring to a message from Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj.

Chairing a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board here at party headquarters, Bhundar asked the five-member committee to obey the Akal Takht directive, strive for unity in the panth and join SAD’s membership drive.

SAD to attend all-party meet at Chennai

Bhundar informed that the party would attend an all-party meeting convened by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on March 22 to discuss the delimitation exercise. “We feel this exercise will create an imbalance in the country. The exercise is also against the concept of federalism with some states like Uttar Pradesh likely to witness an increase of Lok Sabha seats to 150 while there would be a marginal increase in seats of states like Punjab and Haryana”.

He also disclosed that the Akali delegation would also give its inputs on the new education policy which would adversely affect regional languages.