Longowal elected as 42nd SGPC chief amid drama
Voting held after 15 years as oppn members, led by Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, raise objection to unanimous declaration of candidate’s name
AMRITSAR: Former Akali MLA Gobind Singh Longowal was elected as the 42nd chief of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, amid drama during its annual general house meeting here on Wednesday.
Longowal — a former chairman of Sangrur district planning board — got 154 of 169 votes whereas rival candidate Amrik Singh Shahpur from Dera Baba Nanak could garner only 15 votes.
Former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur had proposed Longowal’s name for the position.
Raghujit Singh Virk was elected senior vice president, Harpal Singh Jalla as junior vice president while Gurbachan Singh Karmowala was chosen the general secretary of the SGPC. The three were elected unanimously as were the eleven executive members of the SGPC.
Earlier, when SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh started proceedings, Jagir Kaur announced Longowal’s name for house’s approval. Two other members— Gurbachan Singh Karmuwal and Bhai Manjit Singh — endorsed his name, as per protocol and all Sad-affiliated members, who are in majority, gave their approval by raising their hands.
At this point, opposition members, led by Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, stood up and raised objection to unanimous declaration of the candidate’s name. They demanded voting by fielding Amrik Singh Shahpur, a SAD rebel, as their candidate. Badungar who was carrying out the proceedings of the meeting tried to persuade the opponents arguing that they are in minority and the voting would just be wastage of time.
However, opposition members remained adamant following which voting was held