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Haryana: HSGMC audit row: Ready to face funds probe, says Jhinda
When asked about an apparent rift between him and Daduwal—despite the camaraderie witnessed during the executive body’s formation—Jhinda denied any discord
Two days after former Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) president Baljeet Singh Daduwal—now a nominated member—demanded an audit of the committee’s funds post-2014, current HSGMC chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda said he is open to any such probe.
Speaking with Hindustan Times, Jhinda said, “I am ready for any kind of audit during my tenure from 2014 to 2020 as president. If found guilty, I am ready to return every single rupee and will be answerable to the sangat. A similar inquiry should also be conducted for the tenures of other presidents—Daduwal, Karamjeet Singh and Bhupinder Singh Assandh.”
When asked about an apparent rift between him and Daduwal—despite the camaraderie witnessed during the executive body’s formation—Jhinda denied any discord, saying, “I won’t let the corrupt acts of the last ad-hoc committee get buried in such a manner. The sangat is watching and they’ll be happy to see how I’m trying to bring transparency.”
Jhinda’s remarks came a day after he abruptly dissolved all sub-committees and cancelled appointments of chairpersons of several wings.
In an order issued late on Tuesday evening, he dissolved the committees and sub-committees, including the Dharma Prachar panel headed by Daduwal. “We had formed some sub-committees and appointed chairpersons for various wings like dharma prachar, education, purchase, IT, and agriculture. But some members raised objections in the manner of appointment and were planning to approach the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission. To avoid such a situation, we had to make the decision. They will be restructured soon as per norms,” Jhinda told HT.
Earlier, Jhinda had formed a seven-member inquiry committee to examine what he called “excessive and unjustified expenditure” on aid to rural gurdwaras. He pointed out that while only ₹21 lakh was officially allocated, nearly ₹3.75 crore was disbursed during Assandh’s tenure, when Daduwal chaired Dharma Prachar.
Jhinda told the HT that he had decided to give 15 days time to all employees, clerks, managers and the members of the last committee, to accept their mistakes before the committee, if they’ve done any misappropriation of funds.
Meanwhile, both Daduwal and Assandh have denied the allegations and reiterated their demand for a full audit of the committee’s financial records post-2014.
Daduwal even demanded Jhinda’s resignation if the allegations are proven, while Assandh said they would approach the judicial commission to seek a probe.
