Eying SGPC polls, Jagir Kaur calls on Akali splinters to join hands
The move came after the gurdwara election commission on May 25 asked the state government to update electoral rolls for the gurdwara body polls, hinting at the gurdwara polls in the near future
Former president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Jagir Kaur has called upon all Akali splinter factions and the leaders who have quit the mainstream Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to join hands in view of the SGPC polls.
The move came after the gurdwara election commission on May 25 asked the state government to update electoral rolls for the gurdwara body polls, hinting at the gurdwara polls in the near future. The poll schedule is yet to be announced. The gurdwara polls were last held in 2011.
On being asked, she said Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who remained the secretary general of SAD but quit the party in 2019 after party’s defeat in 2017 state assembly polls to form a sperate faction SAD (Sanyukt) along with his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa may also join her. “There’s no point in contesting separately, this will weaken our strength,” she said while talking to HT on Wednesday.
Reacting to her appeal, Dhindsa said though she was in touch with him in the past, she didn’t consult him before forming separate faction Shiromani Akali Panth, constituted by her recently.
“We don’t have any problem from her forming a separate body, but she should have counted for strength before taking this step, he said. At present, she is being supported by only one SGPC member Paramjit Singh Raipur.
Dhindsa supported Jagir Kaur in the SGPC office bearers’ election, which she unsuccessfully contested for the post of president in November last year.
Jagir Kaur considers SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal who passed away in April as her mentor. She has been the SGPC president thrice and also remained a minister in the SAD-BJP government from 2007-12, however, her primary membership from the SAD was cancelled in November last year after she decided to contest for the post of SGPC president against the will of the SAD high command.
After her ouster, Jagir Kaur has returned to the religio-political scene after a gap of seven months which has ruffled many feathers.
“I appeal to all religious leaders, former leaders of SAD, breakaway factions and from BJP and AAP to join the Shiromani Akali Panthto get control of the SGPC by defeating Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD, which controls the gurdwara body,” she said while talking to Hindustan Times.
SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema reacted sharply to Jagir Kaur’s remark in which she has invited Sikhs from all political parties, including Congress, BJP and AAP. “The remark has been a cause of pain for the Sikhs as it coincided with the 39th anniversary of Operation Bluestar,” he said. “It is ridiculous that Jagir Kaur has decided to contest the SGPC polls by taking support of the party which had attacked the Akal Takht in 1984,” he said.
