SAD asks Dhami-led Takht panel to supervise membership drive

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working committee on Friday asked Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami to start meetings of the seven-member committee constituted by the Akal Takht to supervise the party’s membership drive, which is already underway since January 20. The working committee also asked Dhami, who was made the head of the panel for the party’s re-organisation by Takht, to include new members in the committee in case he feels the need.

Confirming the development party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said: “The party has given all rights to (SGPC chief) Dhami to take decisions and take forward the work of supervising the membership drive.”

It needs mention that SAD, earlier, was not keen to allowing the Akal Takht panel to take over party functioning fearing that working under the direction of a committee constituted by the religious body might lead to de-recognition of the party by the Election Commission of India.

On December 2, Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, had constituted the seven-member committee which other than Dhami includes former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, now dismantled Sudhar (reforms) movement panel convener Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Santa Singh Umaidpur, head of Jhoondan committee who suggested course correction in 2023 Iqbal Singh and Bibi Satwant Kaur, an employee of SGPC who is daughter of All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) president Amrik Singh, who was killed during Operation Bluestar.

On the same day, the Sikh clergy had also pronounced tankhah (religious punishment) to former SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and other party leaders for the mistakes committed by the party and its government from 2007 to 2017.

In deviation from the Takht’s decree, the SAD constituted 30-member panel which included the members of the seven-member committee but excluded Wadala and Bibi Satwant Kaur.

Later, Wadala was included into the panel by the Akali Dal, while Satwant Kaur was still excluded with the party adding that to become the member of the committee she should resign from the SGPC post.

The party had later offered her to join the committee, leaving aside all considerations.

However, Wadala, Ayali and Umaidpur refused to accept their duties and said that it’s a deviation from Akal Takht mandate as pronounced on December 2.

The SAD committee also came under lots of criticism from various sections among the Sikhs who alleged that the party was not implementing the Takht decree in totality.

Reacting to Friday’s development, Wadala said that if the Akal Takht constituted panel has been accepted in its true spirit, he has no qualms in participating in the party’s activities.

“All the leaders of the party (SAD) must steadfastly work on the spirit of hukamnama (Sikh decree) of the highest temporal seat and take forward the task assigned,” he added.

Another SAD leader from Sangrur, who was not keen on being part of the SAD-formed supervisory committee on request of anonymity, said that when Dhami will call a meeting everyone will join.

24.44 lakh slips dispatched for making members:

Briefing the working committee on the membership drive which started on January 20, Cheema said as many as 24,440 copies or 24.44 lakh leaflets have been disbursed for making new members. “Seeing the demand the party has decided to disburse 10 lakh more slips. The party has set a target of making 25 lakh members,” Cheema said.

Gurdwara commission apprised of bogus votes: Dhami

Speaking about bogus votes which had been registered for the Shiromani Committee elections, Dhami said the matter had been brought to the notice of the gurdwara elections chief commissioner justice SS Saron (retd).

He said a SAD delegation had met the chief commissioner recently and had apprised him that as per the Sikh rehat maryada, only those persons who have Singh and Kaur’s as suffixes, can vote in the SGPC polls. Dhami said the delegation had also informed the commissioner that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had ordered booth-level officers to register votes from the assembly voting lists, due to which migrants and even people from other faiths had been registered as voters for the SGPC elections.