Giani Harpreet Singh-led group trying to occupy SGPC offices: Dhami; rebels reject charge

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday accused the new breakaway SAD faction headed by Giani Harpreet Singh of “issuing threats to forcibly take over the Sikh body and its offices”.

“Do we want to give direction to the Sikh community or make them fight each other,” said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami while interacting with mediapersons here.

He said the Akal Takht panel, constituted through an edict on December 2 last year and including the leaders leading the faction, was formed to strengthen the SAD but the vertical split in the party further weakened it.

On employing a transparent and democratic way to conduct elections to choose the party president, Dhami said Surjit Singh Rakhra announced the name of Giani Harpreet Singh a day before holding the poll.

“Then what delegates did? It meant that no new system was introduced,” he alleged.

He averred that the formation of “another SAD” ultimately realised the “long desire of Giani Harpreet Singh to become a president of a political party”.

Citing Akali history, he said several SAD factions came into existence but eventually people decide which is the real Akali Dal.

On the allegations that the SGPC and Sukhbir-led SAD were hand-in-glove with the BJP-run Union Government, he retorted that now Giani Harpreet Singh was free to exercise his will to impress upon the Centre to hold the SGPC elections.

Meanwhile, Charanjit Singh Brar, office coordinator of Giani Harpreet Singh headed SAD faction, said their priority was to get the SGPC election conducted to “secure legitimacy of the community” .

He said for this, they would not shy away from holding agitations. He denied the allegation of hatching a plan to use force to occupy SGPC offices.

Brar said the president of their faction would stay on the position for a term of three years. He said the chief of their faction won’t contest the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections.

In case the president is keen on contesting any election, then he or she would have to resign from the post a year prior to the contest.

The delegates will have a term of six years and then the party’s membership drive for electing the delegate house will be held after this period.

The party did not collect any membership fee during the drive, in which they claimed to have made about 15 lakh members.

It will be mandatory for the Akali Dal to convene at least one delegate session a year.

It was decided through a resolution that they would stick to one family, one ticket norm for elections as well as the party position.