Bid to keep SAD from Haryana gurdwara body polls: Cheema

SAD leader says a new notification had been issued by the Haryana government to prevent all parties, who were registered with the Election Commission under Article 29-A of the Representation of Peoples Act, from contesting the gurdwara elections.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Thursday condemned the “conspiracy to prevent the party from contesting gurdwara committee elections in Haryana”. Issuing a statement, Cheema said a new notification had been issued by the Haryana government to prevent all parties, who were registered with the Election Commission under Article 29-A of the Representation of Peoples Act, from contesting the gurdwara elections. He said the notification stated that such a party could not form a group to contest elections or apply for a symbol for the same.

Daljit Singh Cheema

Terming the notification “illegal and unconstitutional”, the SAD leader said, “Earlier, the Delhi government had sought to keep the SAD out of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections by issuing a similar notification but the party had approached the high court. The court had ruled that this was a secular right and could not be infringed upon.”

While appealing to the Haryana Gurdwara Election Commission to withdraw the notification, he said, “If this is not done, we will approach court.”

Referring apparently to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014, Cheema detailed how the Haryana government had earlier come out with the Act to “break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and hand over control of gurdwaras in Haryana to a committee propped up by it”.