CHANDIGARH: A day after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) executive committee rejected his resignation, Harjinder Singh Dhami has agreed to resume his duties as SGPC chief. His decision came after a closed-door meeting with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar and party leader Sukhbir Singh Badal in Hoshiarpur.
Dhami, who had resigned on 17 February, clarified that he had not withdrawn his resignation but that the SGPC executive had rejected it. "For a long time, SGPC members, Jathedars, and the SAD leadership have been asking me to take back my resignation. While yesterday the SGPC executive committee rejected my resignation, giving in to the dictate of the Sikh community. There is a difference. I will resume office in three to four days in view of the resolution that the executive has unanimously passed," he said.
When asked why it had taken him a month to decide, Dhami said certain matters needed clarification.
Badal and Bhundar met Dhami at his residence today and urged him to withdraw his resignation. Yesterday, after rejecting his resignation, SGPC executive members had visited him and requested him to reconsider, but he had initially not relented. However, his close aides hinted that he might change his decision.
"It is a matter of immense satisfaction that Dhami has accepted the appeal of the community, which is going through a crisis. As excesses are being committed against it, the enemies have reached our doorsteps. We all should unite to fight these forces," said Badal.
Bhundar also praised Dhami’s decision, stating that the state, SAD, and the Sikh community needed his leadership.
Dhami is set to preside over the SGPC budget meeting on 28 March. He had resigned from the SGPC president’s post after former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh condemned the committee’s decision to dismiss Giani Harpreet Singh as the Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar last month.
Dhami had also written to the Akal Takht Jathedar requesting to be relieved from his position in the seven-member committee formed to oversee the new membership drive of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).