7-member panel to meet Bhundar today; seek fresh membership drive as per Akal Takht edict

On December 2 last year, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh pronounced edict announcing “sewa” to then SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders of the party for atonement of mistakes committed during the 10 years of the SAD-BJP government (2007 to 2017).

The seven-member Akal Takht-constituted committee is scheduled to meet Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar in Chandigarh on Thursday. The committee will ask the party to restart the membership drive as per the edict of the temporal seat.

The seven-member Akal Takht-constituted committee is scheduled to meet Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar in Chandigarh on Thursday. The committee will ask the party to restart the membership drive as per the edict of the temporal seat. (HT File)

“In case the SAD’s working president fails to give assurance to recall the (membership) drive, the committee would report back to the clergy that things are out of its hands, requesting the Akal Takht jathedar to take the matter into his own hands,” said rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala on Wednesday. He is a member of the committee constituted by the Akal Takht.

On December 2 last year, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh pronounced edict announcing “sewa” to then SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders of the party for atonement of mistakes committed during the 10 years of the SAD-BJP government (2007 to 2017). He also asked the SAD working committee to accept Sukhbir’s resignation and for merging all Akali factions and constituted a seven-member committee to oversee the membership drive.

Meanwhile, the removal of Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh by the executive committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday has given a new turn to the entire episode. The jathedar was seen as a key force behind the December 2 edict of the Sikh clergy heads.

Other than Wadala, the committee includes SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami as its head, and former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Iqbal Singh Jhundan, Santa Singh Umaidpur and Bibi Satwant Kaur as members.

Initially, the SAD leadership refused to accept the supervision of the said committee to run the membership drive, and after facing criticism from different Sikh quarters, on February 1 the party asked the committee to intervene. Meanwhile, SAD began its membership drive on January 20 for a month and has scheduled the election of the president and office-bearers on March 1.

“I am not sure about Dhami, but all the other members are on the same page that the SAD should recall the members drive and it should be restarted under the supervision of the committee in true spirit of the Akal Takht’s edict,” Wadala added.