Badal ‘coterie’ behind Jathedars’ ouster: Wadala
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala on Friday slammed the sacking of the Jathedars of two Sikh Takhts, alleging that the “blatant attack” on Sikh institutions was orchestrated by a section of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders led by Sukhbir Badal.
He also accused Badal, a former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president, of “belittling” the authority of the Akal Takht by not adhering to its December 2 decree ordering the party’s restructuring by a committee constituted by the temporal seat.
Wadala, who is part of the Akal Takht-constituted panel, also alleged that the Jathedars were removed by the SAD-dominated Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) as they were part of the edict pronounced from the temporal seat.
The party had earlier rejected the Takht panel, whose edict had forced Sukhbir Singh Badal to quit as the SAD chief after he was awarded a religious punishment for “mistakes” committed during the party’s decade-long rule from 2007-17.
The Akal Takht had constituted a seven-member panel to launch a membership drive for the party, which was to be followed by internal party polls to choose its president and other office-bearers.
The panel included rebel Akali leaders, who pitched for reforms in the party, a demand interpreted as an attempt to weaken the Badal family’s decades-long control over SAD.
After the party rejected the panel constituted by the Akal Takht, now-sacked Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had took a tough stance, asking SAD to accept the decree “in toto”.
The party had launched its own drive on January 20, rejecting the decree in this regard.
Later, the strength of the panel had reduced to five after its chief Harjinder Singh Dhami and SAD leader Kirpal Singh Badungar resigned from it.
However, the panel backed by Giani Raghbir Singh decided to launch a separate drive for the party on March 18, a move vehemently opposed by SAD that announced to launch the process for the organisation polls from March 10.
‘They stuck to principles’
Commenting on the fresh development, Wadala said the Takht Jathedars “had to pay the price for upholding the principles” accepted by the Sikh community, but “rejected by “a handful of SAD leaders due to their political aspirations”.
Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, who is also part of the Takht panel, called the decision to remove the two Jathedars “very unfortunate and painful”.
“Every Sikh is hurt. To restore the dignity of Sikh institutions, the entire Sikh community needs to unite,” Ayali said in a post on Facebook.
Former Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib Giani Kewal Singh said, “The SGPC at the behest of the SAD leadership has murdered the Sikh sentiments by removing the Takht Jathedars as they never bowed down to their whims and fancies.”
Jaswinder Singh Advocate, co-convener of the Panthic Talmel Sangathan, an amalgamation of several Sikh organisations, termed it as a “black day” in the history of the Sikh Panth.
He stressed that the need of the hour was to formulate a policy for the appointment, removal and jurisdiction of Takht Jathedars, an issue that has remained unresolved for decades, with Takht heads facing ousters “for not towing the SAD line”.
No policy on service rules
The fresh dismissals have come almost a month after Giani Harpreet Singh was removed as the Jathedar of the Takht Damdama Sahib.
He has also been vocal against the SAD leadership.
Currently, Jathedars of three of the five Sikh temporal seats — Akal Takht, Takht Damdama Sahib and Takht Kesgarh Sahib — are appointed by the SAD-dominated SGPC.
The Jathedars of the other two Takhts — Patna Sahib in Patna and Hazoor Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra — located outside Punjab, are appointed by their separate management committees after taking the Union government into the loop.
On January 21, 2015, the SGPC had constituted a panel to decide on the rules governing service rules pertaining to the Jathedars but it has been lying defunct since then.
Earlier, when Giani Raghbir Singh had objected to the unceremonious removal of Giani Harpreet Singh, he had asserted that only the Akal Takht had the authority to investigate the Jathedars of the Sikh Takhts.
Countering it, SGPC’s senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk, while citing the Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925, had stated then that the SGPC has the authority and prerogative to appoint or remove the Takht Jathedars.
SGPC budget on March 28
The executive committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Friday unanimously decided to hold the Sikh body's annual budget session on March 28.
