dhami-alleges-rival-sad-trying-to-take-over-sgpc-offices

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has accused the new breakaway faction of the SAD headed by Giani Harpreet Singh of “issuing threats to forcibly take over the SGPC and its offices”.

 

“Do we want to give direction to the Sikh community or make them fight each other,” said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami while interacting with mediapersons. He said the Akal Takht panel, constituted through an edict on December 2 last year was formed to strengthen the SAD, but the vertical split in the party had further weakened it.

 

On employing a transparent and democratic way to conduct elections to choose the party president, Dhami said Surjit Singh Rakhra announced the name of Giani Harpreet Singh a day before holding the poll. “But thereafter, no new system was introduced.  The formation of another SAD ultimately realised the desire of Giani Harpreet Singh to become president of a political party,” said Dhami, adding that several SAD factions came into existence, but eventually people decide which is the real Akali Dal.

 

On the allegations that the SGPC and Sukhbir Badal-led SAD were hand-in-glove with the BJP-run Central government, Dhami said Giani Harpreet Singh was now free to exercise his will to impress upon the Centre to hold the SGPC elections.

 

However, Charanjit Singh Brar, office coordinator of Giani Harpreet Singh-headed SAD faction, said they want to get the SGPC election conducted to “secure legitimacy of the community”. “We will not shy away from holding agitations to achieve this end,” said Brar, denying that the parallel group is hatching a plan to use force to occupy SGPC offices.

 

Brar said the president of their faction would occupy the post for a term of three years. “The head of our faction won’t contest the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. In case the president decides to contest any election, he or she would have to resign from the post a year prior to the election,” he said.

 

The breakaway SAD faction claimed to have inducted about 15 lakh members without collecting any fee for it during the membership drive.