Hold Takht Sri Hazur Sahib Board poll as per original Act, says SGPC

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 15

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has welcomed the Maharashtra Cabinet’s decision to put on hold the amendment in the Takht Sri Hazur Sahib Gurdwara Nanded Board Act 1956. However, the SGPC and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have questioned the interference of the Maharashtra Government into the matters of Sikh faith.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami demanded that the Maharashtra Government should conduct elections of the Takht Sri Hazur Sahib Board as per the original Nanded Gurdwara Act 1956.

Dhami said: "The Maharashtra Government had decided to constitute a subcommittee of its Cabinet to take further appropriate decisions into the matter. This amounts to government's interference."

"Before taking anu further decision, the Maharashtra Government should first repeal its earlier amendment in the Nanded Gurdwara affairs which it did by way of Ordinance No. III of 2015, making provision to amend 'The Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Act 1956', in the year 2015, to nominate the president of Nanded Board."

He said while the traditional democratic practice is that the president was elected by the members of the Board in a transparent manner, from among the members only.

“The Sikhs desire that an election should be conducted at the earliest as per the provisions of the original Nanded Gurdwara Act 1956, so that the Board is made functional democratically as per the sentiments of the community,” he said.

SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said, “It is good that Maharashtra Cabinet has decided to put on hold its Cabinet decision of February 5 regarding amendment in the Takhat Hazur Sahib Act 1956, but the purpose of appointing a Cabinet sub-committee, was still not clear."

“Does it want to continue interfering into the religious affairs of the Sikhs? This is totally undesired. The members of the board should have the right to democratically elect their president instead of the government nominating it. We hope the Cabinet will also scrap this undemocratic amendment too and avoid further changes in the Act,” he said.

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