Dhami re-elected SGPC chief, Bibi puts up a fight
AMRITSAR: Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Harjinder Singh Dhami was elected as Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president for the second consecutive term on Wednesday after he defeated former three-time president Bibi Jagir Kaur in a high- stakes battle for the apex gurdwara body’s top post.
Out of the 146 votes polled by SGPC members, Dhami got 104 while Jagir Kaur secured 42. This is the highest number of votes that an opposition candidate has managed to secure so far in the present SGPC house. Prior to this, the opposition vote count had been 15 (2017), 22 (2020) and 19 (2021).
SGPC, also called the miniparliament of Sikhs, has an annual budget of around Rs 1,000 crore. It controls 80 large historical gurdwaras, besides many other shrines. The SGPC also runs two medical colleges, three hospitals, and a large number of schools and colleges.
The general house of the SGPC assembled at the Teja Singh Samundri hall to elect its president and other office bearers, including general secretary, senior vice-president and junior vice-president. Baldev Singh Kayampur was unanimously elected as vice-president, Avtar Singh Rea as junior vice-president and Gurcharan Singh Grewal as general secretary.
SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, in a statement, called Dhami’s win a “victory of the panth” over forces out to wreck the Sikh community. “I thank the ‘akal purakh’, ‘khalsa panth’ and SGPC members for giving a resounding rebuff to anti-Sikh conspirators and their stooges by reposing faith in the SGPC poll today,” he said.
According to observers, by ensuring Dhami’s victory, Badals have managed to stave off a serious challenge to their supremacy over the SGPC and quell rebellious voices.
Addressing the media after the results, Dhami said it was a victory of the Sikh community as “anti-Sikh forces” had left no stone unturned to defeat the SAD. Dhami accused the Centre, the Punjab government, the Haryana government, the RSS and National Commission for Minorities chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura of being behind efforts to defeat the SAD.
He said “anti-SAD” people contacted all the SGPC members to support the opposition candidate but it did not work. “The
credit of this victory goes to all those members of the SGPC, who resolved to remain firm despite the adverse circumstances,” added Dhami.
Jagir Kaur, on her part, said:” Injustice has been meted out to me. Some of the members who wanted to support me were threatened before voting. Despite all this, 42 members turned up to vote for me, for which I will be thankful to them. I will fight for Panth forever.”
Before the poll, the SAD had initially suspended Bibi for “antiparty activities”, but she stood behind her decision to contest the poll, and was expelled. Jagir Kaur, once considered a loyalist of the Badal family, was demanding she be made the party’s nominee for the SGPC presidential poll. Bibi, a former MLA, was SGPC chief in 1999, 2004 and 2020.
SAD (Sanyukt) chief Sukhev Singh Dhindsa had also met several SGPC members and had urged them to vote for Bibi. The SAD had announced Dhami as its candidate and its decision to name its candidate was a marked departure from the practice of declaring its nominee on the day of poll.
With the opposition performing better in the voting, its representation increased from one to three members in the 11-member executive committee. The new executive committee members are: Mohan Singh Bangi, Jarnail Singh Kartarpur, Surjit Singh Tugalwal, Bawa Singh Gumanpura, Gurinder Kaur Bholuwala, Gurnam Singh Jassal, Paramjit Singh Khalsa, Sher Singh Mandwala, Baba Gurpreet Singh Randhawe Wale, Bhupinder Singh Asandh and Malkeet Singh Changal. For the first time, there was no woman on the list of new executive members. Bholuwala’s name was added after a protest by woman members in the House.
Born in 1956, Dhami holds BA, LLB degrees. For the last 40 years, he has been voluntarily fighting the cases of Sikh militants. He became an SGPC member for the first time in 1996 and has been a member since then. He was very close to late Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who had been the SGPC president for 25 years. SGPC member from Phillaur Kulbir Singh Barapind, who is serving a life term in a murder case, sought parole for casting his vote but was not granted parole.
This is also for the first time in the recent history that the media was not allowed to cover the election session inside the hall, nor did the SGPC air the session live on its social media platforms. In a resolution passed in the house, the SGPC condemned Centre’s plan of implementing Uniform Civil Code in the country, citing that this is way forward to transform the country into a “Hindu Nation”.