Sacked Sikh cleric takes political battle to Sukhbir Badal's doorstep

Exactly six months after being sacked as Jathedar of the Takht Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda, as a probe panel found him guilty of misconduct following a complaint against him, 53-year-old Giani Harpreet Singh challenged his bete noire Sukhbir Singh Badal on his political turf.

On February 11, the SGPC had dismissed the services of Giani Harpreet Singh who was earlier appointed the Jathedar of the Takht at Bathinda in April 2017.

Known for his oratory skills, Giani Harpreet Singh is the first head of any Akali Dal faction to come from the Scheduled Caste community.

Notably, Sukhbir was among those Akali leaders who were instrumental in elevating him from a priest at a gurdwara in Muktsar to the position of Akal Takht Jathedar. Lapping up the opportunity, he gave a break to his PhD work at Punjabi University in Patiala to join the highest position in the panth in 2018.

Both Sukhbir Badal and Giani Harpreet Singh fell apart after a series of tumultuous events after 2022.

His meetings with politicians of various parties and his attending weddings of celebrities had generated controversies. Appointed acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht on October 22, 2018, he had stepped down amid controversy over attending the engagement of MP Raghav Chadha and actor Parineeti Chopra on June 16, 2023.

In 2022, he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, raising hackles of the SAD and the SGPC. Displaying his secular spirit, he publically announced that any good person could become Chief Minister of Punjab, irrespective of his religious background, thereby weakening the claim of the SAD among the masses.

After being removed as Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, he had openly alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched by the “messengers of Badals”, at the behest of the SAD and the SGPC to make ground for his “permanent ouster” from the services of the Takht.

Before his removal as Jathedar, while talking to the Tribune on January 28, he had alleged that a narrative was being created to implicate him in a frivolous case. “Let them (SGPC) terminate my services, I will see what to do next and expose everything,” he said, without naming anyone.

He was among the five high priests, led by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who pronounced “tankhah” (religious punishment) to the “guilty” leadership of the SAD on December 2. He was also on the panel of the five high priests that expelled a SAD leader who had alleged that he (Giani Harpreet Singh) owed allegiance to the BJP and RSS.

Earlier, he had once offered his resignation to the SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami following a tiff with an “expelled” SAD leader, but that was not accepted.

A graduate from Guru Kashi Gurmat Institute, Giani Harpreet Singh joined the SGPC as a preacher in 1997. He was appointed the head granthi of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Muktsar in 1999. He completed his master’s in religious studies from Panjab University. He also did PhD in comparative study of the teachings of the Quran and Guru Granth Sahib.

In April 2017, the SGPC appointed him Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, replacing Giani Gurmukh Singh, who had issued statements against the SGPC, alleging that the SAD leadership dictated terms to the five high priests for granting “pardon” to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in October 2015 that was later revoked.