SAD not cooperating, Takht panel members tell Jathedar

Members of the Akal Takht panel constituted to oversee the Shiromani Akali Dal overhaul on Sunday met Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, telling him that the party was “reluctant to cooperate” with them over the issue of the membership drive.

The closed-door meeting lasted for around an hour during which they also submitted a report on the three meetings they held over the issue so far.

The development came days after Harjinder Singh Dhami resigned as the panel chief. He had also resigned from the post of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president.

Another panel member Kirpal Singh Badungar quit after Dhami’s resignation, reducing its strength to five. The resignations of both are yet to be accepted.

Earlier, the party had rejected the panel constituted by the temporal seat, whose December 2 edict had forced Sukhbir Singh Badal to quit as the party 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 the committee and asked SAD to undertake a six-month long membership drive to restructure the party. However, the party launched its own month-long membership campaign on January 20, resulting in a stalemate over the issue.

‘Authority of panel intact’

According to Wadala, Giani Raghbir Singh told them that the authority of the Takht-constituted panel “still stands” despite Dhami and former SGPC president Badungar declaring intentions to quit.

“We have told Giani Raghbir Singh that the SAD leadership was reluctant to cooperate and acknowledge the Akal Takht committee. We were assured that soon he will issue a message to the community, keeping in view the prevailing circumstances. We are looking forward to the Akal Takht’s next directions,” he said.

Wadala said the Akal Takht Jathedar assured them that he would get the December 2 edict implemented “in toto” .

The Jathedar had asked Dhami to withdraw his decision to quit on Saturday night and join back as the head of the SGPC and the Akal Takht committee.

“If Dhami sahib had resigned on the grounds of morality on my (earlier) social media post, then it was also moral for him to resume his services as the head of the SGPC and the Akal Takht committee, and kickstart the recruitment process for SAD as directed by the Akal Takht,” he had said in a social media post.