Ready to conduct elections, says officiating HSGMC chief

Karnal, September 7

The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) (ad hoc) officiating president, Bhupinder Singh Assandh, who is also holding the charge of senior vice-president of the committee, today said that he would take all members of the committee along to look better after all historical gurdwaras.

After assigning the post of officiating president, Assandh was honoured by the Sikh community members and religious preachers at Manji Sahib Gurdwara in the city.

While interacting with mediapersons, he said the state government had started the process of conducting elections for the new committee. Voters were being registered. “We are ready to conduct the elections. We met the CM and requested that only the ‘keshdhari’ should be on the voter list. The form for making votes should be in Punjabi language,” said Assandh, who had served in SGPC for about 27 years and had now resigned.

He said for the committee election process, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) TVSN Prasad would hold a meeting of all DCs on September 15.

The state government on Wednesday has assigned the charge of president to Assandh, and of general secretary to executive member Ramneek Singh Maan.

Asked about any call to him from the committee constituted by Akal Takht in the allegations levelled by former general secretary Gurvinder Singh Dhamija against former president Mahant Karamjit Singh, Assandh said he would give his feedback if he was asked for it. “I will appear before Akal Takht whenever I am asked for my feedback on the issue,” he said.

He denied any embezzlement of funds of gurdwaras and said no inquiry was required. On a question if it was a government committee, he said it was a committee of the Sikh community. “The government has formed an ad hoc committee, like the previous Congress government had formed,” he said.

The government had formed a 38-member ad hoc committee under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Act, 2014, in December. In just nine months, factionalism emerged among the members.

Will work for historical gurdwaras

I respect all members and do not want to comment on what happened in the past. Our main focus is on spreading awareness about Sikhism as well as working for historical gurdwaras. — Bhupinder Singh Assandh, officiating president,HSGMC (ad hoc)