Jagir Kaur is Akali rebels’ candidate for SGPC polls
The rebel group of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has announced senior leader Bibi Jagir Kaur (70) as its candidate for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak polls due for October 28
Jalandhar : The rebel group of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has announced senior leader Bibi Jagir Kaur (70) as its candidate for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak polls due for October 28.
The SAD rebels led by its convener Gurpartap Singh Wadala and other senior leaders held a meeting in Jalandhar to discuss the issues related to Sikh community, including the recent controversy between Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha.
Jagir Kaur remained the SGPC president thrice in 1999, 2004 and 2020, as the SAD candidate. In 2000, Kaur, was forced to step down as the SGPC chief after she was accused of murdering her 19-year-old daughter. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a first information report against her. However, she was acquitted by the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2018.
In 2022, Kaur revolted against SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and even contested SGPC elections unsuccessfully the same year. She was expelled any “anti-party” activities but rejoined the Badal faction in March this year before the Lok Sabha elections. She again parted ways within few months to become core member of the SAD’s splinter group.
Wadala said the decision to field Kaur for the apex gurdwara body polls was taken on the basis of a report submitted by a five-member committee.
“The committee toured different parts of the state and gathered feedback from 85 members before taking a final call on the name of Bibi Jagir Kaur, who remained at helm of SGPC affairs multiple times,” Wadala said.
He added that the victory of Jagir Kaur would help free the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, from political interference and to streamline the working of the jathedars appointed by the SGPC from time to time.
The leaders also passed several resolutions, including ending supremacy of a single family in SGPC affairs and give command of the SGPC to Sikh community, to reject the candidate announced by SAD and its president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has been declared ‘tankhayia’ by the Akal Takht.
“The situation is completely different before the SGPC elections as there is open rebellion against the SGPC presidents and senior members of Sukhbir-led Akali Dal. Every member of Sikh community has now come to know that Akali leaders like Valtoha were running SGPC affairs and daring to intimidate Takht jathedars,” Kaur said.
The Akal Takht had recently issued a notice to Kaur seeking an explanation from her in a case related murder of her daughter.