Five Sikh high priests to meet today amid row over SAD drive

Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj has called a meeting of five Sikh high priests on Tuesday, amid a row over the Shiromani Akali Dal membership drive.

Coinciding with it, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too has called a meeting of its working committee in Chandigarh to fix the dates for the general session to elect its new president and office-bearers.

The development has come as an Akal Takht-constituted panel, including rebel Akalis, has also launched a parallel membership drive for the SAD, which has been rejected by the party.

Gargaj is yet to take a call on the status of the Takht panel, which was given a go-ahead by his predecessor after the party rejected the panel. According to information, the five high priests led by Gargaj will assemble at the Akal Takht Secretariat at 9.30 am.

A source said they might discuss the SAD membership drive row. Without divulging the details, secretariat officials said the meeting pertained to various Panthic and social issues.

Meanwhile, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said their working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar would chair the meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Sukhbir Singh Badal was forced 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.