The Centre and the Punjab government are engaged in weakening and destroying the Sikh community, said Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami at a meeting with the leaders of Singh Sabhas and Gurdwara Management Committees of Jalandhar in New Vinay Nagar here on Saturday.
The meeting was held at the residence of Akali leader Ranjit Singh Rana in the presence of SAD urban district president and SGPC member Kulwant Singh Mannan.
Dhami said that both the governments are engaged in defaming the Sikh community all over the world, and when a crucial by-election to the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat is going to be held soon, there is a need to forget mutual differences and stand with SAD, the sectarian party of Sikhs.
On the Jalandhar bypoll, Mannan said that all religious societies and Gurdwara Management Committees of the city should take a decision in favour of SAD-BSP candidate by taking a farsighted decision. The committees of Singh Sabha Gurdwaras have resolved to support the candidate of Akali-BSP alliance, Sukhwinder Sukhi, in the by-election, he added.
On the other hand, the former president of the SGPC, Bibi Jagir Kaur, said that when the SAD could not find an ‘amridhari’ (baptised) Sikh as its candidate for the bypoll, then how can it think of strengthening the ‘Panthak ideology’ of SAD. She said it was not appropriate for the SGPC president to hold meetings wherein the SAD leaders were seeking support in favour of the SAD-BSP candidate. “Akali Dal is a Panthak party, but now it is limited to the family of Badals only,” she added.
Gurdwara Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Patshahi Nauvi president Jagjit Singh Gaba said that the president of the SGPC is a post of a religious body, which belongs to all religious societies of Sikh sects and not a family. He alleged that Dhami has exploited his official position, and his presence in a meeting where the leaders are involved in a political discussion has only proved that SGPC is a wing of SAD as stated by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal sometime in the past.
The SGPC chief could not be contacted.