A high-level delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday met Haryana governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and demanded a review of the “unconstitutional act” passed by the state assembly last month “in violation of the Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925”.
The delegation told the governor that the new Haryana law encroached upon the jurisdiction of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) formed under the 1925 legislation. It was an inter-state body corporate under the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, it argued.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar, SAD secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra, and secretary/spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema comprised the delegation.
Dr Cheema referred to the “conspiracies” being hatched by the new “illegal” committee and the Haryana government’s attempting to take over the control of the historical gurdwaras from the SGPC.
The delegation requested the governor to direct the Haryana government to go by the constitutional provisions and “not try to cause massive unrest”.
The memorandum to Solanki sought immediate reversal of the takeover process. The delegation told the governor about the Supreme Court interim order based on an SGPC petition of March 30, 2012, against the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation. The order stated that “the executive committee comprising members under the chairmanship of Avtar Singh Makkar shall continue to function in terms of the Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925 until further orders”.
The delegation stated that the Haryana government’s passing an act to take over the SGPC-run gurdwaras was grave violation of the Supreme Court judgment.
{{/usCountry}}The delegation stated that the Haryana government’s passing an act to take over the SGPC-run gurdwaras was grave violation of the Supreme Court judgment.
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