There were celebrations all around at the headquarters of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in the Golden Temple complex following the victory of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led by the Badals in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections.
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'ladoos' were being distributed among SGPC employees, its president Avtar Singh Makkar termed the victory as that of the Sikh 'sangat' (community). Those who administered the DSGMC as their personal and private property have been rejected. The 'sangat' has rejected those who had challenged the authority of the Akal Takht and shown disrespect to the highest temporal seat of Sikhism," said Makkar without referring to outgoing DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, who had refused to abide by the Akal Takht directive on accepting the revised Nanakshahi calendar instead of the original calendar of 2003.
Makkar claimed that the Sikh voters had rejected the Sarnas for their gross mismanagement of gurdwaras in Delhi. The new committee will live up to the expectations of the Sikhs of Delhi, he assured.
He gave full credit for the victory to SAD chief and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and CM Parkash Singh Badal. He described it as a historic win for the SAD.