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SGPC seek review of electoral rolls for Haryana Sikh body polls
Addressing a press conference here, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami said: “The election schedule to the HSGMC has been announced in haste without holding any meeting with political parties”.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Thursday appealed to the Gurdwara Elections Commissioner to revise the voter list before initiating the election process for the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), citing several irregularities including the addition of non-Sikhs in the list and not putting pictures of voters in the list.
Addressing a press conference here, Dhami said: “The election schedule to the HSGMC has been announced in haste without holding any meeting with political parties”.
Dhami added that no provision has been kept to register political parties for the allocation of symbols for the election and that this was being seen as an attempt to deny registration to the representative body of the Sikhs – the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). “This should be corrected”, he added.
The Haryana government withdrew the polls process keeping in view the clash of class 10 board examinations coinciding with the polls, earlier announced for March 6.
Dhami said that in the voting lists, a large number of non-Sikh names, who were not eligible to vote for the Gurdwara elections, have been included and besides this, pictures of the voters had not been included in the list which could result in malpractices.
The SGPC chief also said that only 390 booths had been earmarked in the entire state for the casting of votes. “This means voters from an average of 20 villages will vote in one designated booth adding to their inconvenience,” he said.
Dhami also disclosed that the SGPC had lodged its protest against the Maharashtra CM for reconstituting the Sri Hazur Sahib Board. “This amounts to a government takeover of the Board which is being condemned by the entire Sikh Sangat. We appeal to the Maharashtra government to withdraw this decision,” he added.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said that there should not be any government interference in the religious affairs of the Sikh community and the community be allowed to manage their shrines.
