CHANDIGARH: The president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Harjinder Singh Dhami resigned on Saturday.
The SGPC is known as mini-parliament of the Sikhs.
Dhami submitted his resignation to the SGPC executive committee.
The resignation of Dhami comes after the Akal Takht Jathedar (High Priest) Giani Raghbir Singh condemned the sacking of Giani Harpreet Singh (High Priest) of Takht Damdama Sahib by executive committee of SGPC.
Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs.
Dhami said he is committed to the Akal Takht.
He demanded that he also be removed from the seven-member committee constituted by the Akal Takht on December 2 last year to supervise the re-organisation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Referring to a February 13 Facebook post of Jathedar Raghbir Singh on the termination of services of Giani Harpreet Singh, "Once again, I want to say from my heart that terminating the services of Giani Harpreet Singh is an extremely condemnable and unfortunate act which has harmed the independent existence of the Takht Sahibs,’’ Singh said.
Dhami noted that he wrote that Harpreet Singh's removal was "highly condemnable" and "unfortunate".
"After the statement of the Giani Raghbir Singh, I take moral responsibility for the decision and resign from the top post of SGPC on moral grounds with immediate effect,’’ he said.
Dhami added that he had written to the Akal Takht Jathedar to relieve him from his position in the seven-member committee formed to supervise the new membership drive of the SAD.
"Besides, I also appeal to the Singh Sahib to remove me from my role as head of the seven-member committee. Circumstances for the sikh community are very serious and the government is trying to weaken Sikh organisations,’’ he said.
Commenting on the decision to terminate the services of Harpreet Singh due to which the SGPC and SAD leaders faced a backlash from across the community, Dhami said, "In the executive committee meeting there was detailed discussion on this issue. All the member expressed their views. This is not the first time that the executive committee has terminated the services of a jathedar.”
Terming Dhami’s resignation a sad development, Harpreet Singh on a Facebook post said, "Five to seven SAD leaders who are ignorant about Panthic traditions and ‘maryada’ are weakening Panthic institutions for vested interests and ‘keep politics of a person alive’. The leaders who represent Panthic ideology are being shown the door or a leader is pressurized so much that he is forced to quit.’’
The resignation of Dhami is seen as a setback for the SAD which allegedly pressurized the SGPC executive committee to remove Harpreet Singh as he played a key role in the December 2 decree of the Sikh clergy in which tankhah (religious punishment) has given to Sukhbir Badal. After his services were terminated, Singh had alleged that the Badals were behind the decision.
The December 2 last year edict of the highest sikh temporal seat not only awarded religious punishment to Badal and other SAD leaders for the mistakes committed by the party and its government from 2007-17 on the complaint of rebel party leaders, but also directed the SAD working committee to accept Badal’s resignation as SAD president, besides constituting the seven-member committee comprising members from both the Badal and rebel group to start recruitment drive and elect new office-bearers in six months.