Bibi Jagir Kaur won't budge, questions suspension

Jalandhar, November 4

Even as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday appealed to Jagir Kaur to drop her plans to contest for the post of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president, the latter has refused to budge.

Instead, Jagir Kaur on Friday filed a hard-hitting reply to the 48-hour notice and suspension order issued by the chairman of the SAD disciplinary committee, Sikandar Singh Maluka. In the six-point reply, she said no candidate had been announced for the post of SGPC chief by the party and so she did not indulge in any anti-party activity or create any indiscipline.

She questioned under which section of the SAD’s constitution had she been placed under suspension and what was the basis for it. She even sought details of the written complaint, if any, against her. She questioned if the organisational set-up of the party had been dissolved by the party chief and only a working committee was in place, then when did the working committee hold a meeting and under which section of the constitution was the disciplinary committee set up by it.

She said she did not get any notice for anti-party activities. “I was never heard. Ordering suspension without a notice and without being heard seems to be a violation of the norms of the party’s constitution,” she stated in her last point.

Ex-Akali minister and four-time SGPC chief Jagir Kaur had been placed under suspension by the SAD on November 2 ever since she had announced to stand as a candidate for the post of SGPC chief.

Meanwhile, Jagir Kaur and her supporters on Friday termed the announcement of Harjinder Singh Dhami as the SAD candidate for SGPC poll as the first principle victory. “Half the battle has been won. My fight was for ending the ‘lifafa’ culture. SAD has done away with it today for the first time,” she said.