Ahead of the critical General House meeting of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) set to be held on February 10, HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda has demanded a revision in the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act to remove the requirement of a two-thirds majority for completing the quorum in panel meetings.
The demand comes ahead of discussions on the future of executive body members who have been repeatedly skipping meetings.
Jhinda said that under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act, a two-thirds majority is mandatory to complete a simple quorum in both the executive committee and the General House. He said this provision is misplaced, as such a requirement is meant for major policy decisions, not for routine matters, which are normally decided by a simple majority.
He stated that the provision was being deliberately misused by dissenting members to disrupt the functioning of the HSGMC.
“It has been observed that the very provision is being misused by the dissenting members to create obstacles in the smooth functioning of the HSGMC. They have been using it as a tool to derail the Haryana committee, as they don’t turn up in the meetings and also pressurise other members not to attend the meetings so that the quorum is not completed and decisions are not finalised. We request the Chief Minister to bring a suitable amendment to this provision in the Haryana Gurdwara Act and replace it with a simple majority,” he said.
Claiming the amendment would improve panel’s efficiency, he said it would help the committee take decisions smoothly and encourage better attendance. He added that a letter had been sent to the Chief Minister seeking the change.
Supporting the demand, HSGMC member Didar Singh Nalvi said a resolution should be passed and forwarded to the government to facilitate the amendment. He said the two-thirds quorum requirement creates hurdles and often delays even important decisions.
Akal Panthak Morcha leader and HSGMC member Harmanpreet Singh said differences among factions make it difficult to achieve a two-thirds majority in every meeting. He said while the issue needs resolution, the rights of elected members must also be protected.
Another HSGMC member, Baldev Singh Kaimpur, said the two-thirds majority requirement should apply only to major policy matters. He said for routine issues like budgets, development works, and daily affairs, a simple majority should be sufficient.
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