SGPC move to appoint chief secy may hit legal hurdle

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 1

The SGPC executive committee may have given its nod to appoint the chief secretary of the premier Sikh body, but its move may run into rough weather with the SAD (1920) gearing up to challenge it in the court of law.

The SGPC executive committee had on Tuesday decided to make the appointment to the key post and give advertisements in newspapers. Notably, the SGPC had earlier too invited applications for the post, interviews for which were scheduled to take place on June 4 and then on June 16, before being postponed apparently in view of the controversy the move had sparked.

SAD (1920) vice-president Raghbir Singh Rajasansi said their party president Ravi Inder Singh had already shot off missives in this regard to the Prime Minister and the President.

He said President Pranab Mukherjee had forwarded the matter to the Union Home Ministry for “appropriate action”. He said they would also challenge the SGPC move in the court of law.

“We will produce a copy of the SGPC executive’s resolution, besides the advertisements which will appear in media for the appointment to the post, in the court,” he said. He said former SGPC member Sawinder Singh Dobalia had already served a legal notice to the SGPC against the move. The notice was sent to the SGPC president, secretary and committee members. SGPC executive members from the Opposition — Mangal Singh and Bhajan Singh Shergill — opposed the SGPC move in yesterday’s meeting of the committee at Fatehgarh Sahib. Mangal Singh alleged that SGPC Chief Secretary was being appointed at the behest of the Akali Dal high command.

SGPC rues stopping of Gurbani’s broadcast

The SGPC has resented the move of Akashvani Jalandhar to stop the live broadcast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple due to PM Narendra Modi’s event on Digital India this evening. It has also written to Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. SGPC Additional Secretary Diljeet Singh said there was no broadcast of Gurbani from the holy shrine between 4.30 pm and 6 pm on Wednesday.