E-Paper
Executive meet: SGPC House to meet on Nov 8 to elect president
SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami said during the meeting a resolution on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal was also passed, and it was made clear that no one will be allowed to ‘loot’ the waters of Punjab
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Thursday decided to hold a general house session for the annual election of the SGPC president, senior vice-president, junior vice-president, general secretary and the members of the executive committee on November 8.
This general meeting will be held at 1 pm at Teja Singh Samundri Hall located in the SGPC office.
Sharing details, SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami also said during the meeting a resolution on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal was also passed, and it was made clear that no one will be allowed to ‘loot’ the waters of Punjab.
The SGPC office bearers are elected for a year, and office bearers are elected from among the members of the general house.
In the last elections held on November 9, 2022, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Dhami was re-elected as president for a second consecutive term. He defeated former three-time president Bibi Jagir Kaur in a high-stakes battle.
Of the total 146 votes polled with secret ballot papers, Dhami got 104, while Bibi managed 42.
SGPC member resigns from executive committee
After the meeting, SGPC member Bawa Singh Gumanpura resigned from the executive committee in protest against the ‘clean chit’ given to the management of Sri Guru Ram Das Ji Medical University run by the SGPC in case of irregularities. SGPC constituted committee absolved University dean Dr AP Singh of any wrongdoing and upset over it, Gill announced to quit SAD. Showing solidarity with him, Gumanpura also tendered his resignation.
Dhindsa-led SAD (S) to contest the SGPC polls
Former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Thursday announced to contest the election of the SGPC general house along with like-minded Panthic groups.
He presided over a meeting of the state body of the SAD (Sanyukt), which he heads. Manjit Singh Bhoma and other party leaders attended the meeting.
Will not allow Punjab waters to be shared
A special resolution was also passed against the SYL in a meeting of the SGPC’s executive committee. SGPC president said no coercive action will be tolerated on the water issue of Punjab.
“After the recent instruction given by the Supreme Court to the Centre and Punjab government regarding the survey of SYL, it is the duty of the state government to represent the rights and interests of the state and clearly register its strong stand against SYL,” Dhami said.
The SGPC has also decided to honour Sabat Surat (one with unshorn hair) Sikh player Jarmanpreet Singh of the Indian hockey team, which won the gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Games, with an amount of ₹2 lakh. Dhami said that other hockey players belonging to Punjab will also be honoured with ₹50,000 each. Similarly, shooter Sifat Kaur will be honoured with ₹50,000.
He said the executive committee has also expressed commitment to continue the struggle for the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners). He also informed that the SGPC has released an app for live audio of Gurbani Kirtan from Harmandir Sahib. He said that this app has been named SGPC Gurbani Kirtan, through which the community members will be able to listen to uninterrupted audio streaming of Kirtan for the entire conduct.
