Takht panel seeks nod to hold SAD chief poll at SGPC headquarters

An Akal Takht-constituted panel on Saturday wrote to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), seeking permission to hold polls to elect the SAD president at the Sikh body’s headquarters here on August 11.

The move drew a sharp response from the party, with its spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema saying the committee “held no validity”.

Sikh body in a fix

The decision to hold the polls at Teja Singh Samundri Hall by the panel has also put the SAD-dominated SGPC in a fix as it does not want to be seen defying the Takht, according to sources.

The SGPC has called a meeting of its executive on July 28, followed by a general house on August 5, to discuss the issue and other Panthic matters, a source added.

The panel, including rebel Akali leaders, was constituted by the temporal seat through an edict issued on December 2 last year. It was tasked with holding a membership drive for the party besides holding organisational polls for it. However, the SAD rejected the committee and carried its own membership drive, leaving the fate of the Takht panel in limbo.

Later, the SAD re-elected Sukhbir Singh Badal as the party president in organisational polls held in April.

The Akal Takht too has remained mum on the panel’s fate despite its members seeking a leadership change in the SAD.

The members of the panel are Satwant Kaur, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Santa Singh Umaidpuri, Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Iqbal Singh Jhunda.

Earlier, two members of the panel, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami and SAD leader Kirpal Singh Badungar, distanced themselves from it.

On Saturday, the letter seeking permission to hold the polls was submitted to the SGPC by Satwant Kaur, according to a statement.

Reacting to the development, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said the panel, now left with only five members, “held no validity and does not exist for them after Dhami and Badungar resigned from it”.

He said earlier a delegation of his party had met the Akal Takht Jathedar over the issue and convinced him that according to the constitution of the party, only the SAD working committee could elect the president and other office-bearers.