HSGMC: Sikh community leaders have requested a meeting with Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya in order to request his involvement in their bid to be elected to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC).
The HSGMC (ad hoc)’s 18-month tenure came to an end on May 31, but the government has not yet announced the date of the election. The government has been asked to dissolve the committee and designate a receiver by the community leaders.
“The election process has not been conducted in accordance with the 2014 Act of the Haryana Gurdwara Management Committee,” declared Jagdish Singh Jhinda, president of the Haryana Shiromani Panthak Akali Dal and former head of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (ad hoc). The 18-month timeframe that the ad hoc committee was constituted for has now ended. The Election Commission hasn’t carried out the elections as required throughout that time.
The government has not responded to our repeated requests for it to dissolve the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and designate a receiver. We have asked the governor of Haryana for some time in order to get his advice and help in fixing this problem. The election ought to be held by the government. If not, we have chosen to transfer this case to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Jhinda continued, “To discuss the matter with the community people, a meeting has been arranged for Tuesday at Kurukshetra.
“The government-appointed committee members have failed to discharge their duties efficiently,” stated Ambala-based SGPC member Harpal Singh Pali. To no avail, we have asked the government to hold the election on several occasions. The election date ought to be declared as soon as possible. If not, we will have no choice but to present a front against the administration, and it will bear the consequences.
We further demand that the government refrain from meddling in gurdwara matters. If not, Pali warned, it will pay a heavy price in the next Assembly election.
“Though the tenure has ended, the committee has been discharging its duties efficiently, and the completion of the tenure has no impact on the functioning of the HSGMC,” stated Bhupinder Singh Assandh, president of the HSGMC (ad hoc). We are prepared for the election to the Haryana committee, and the government will make the final election decision.