Amritsar, December 1
The Shiromani Khalsa Panchayat (SKP) today served a 45-day ultimatum on the SGPC to remove ‘tainted Sikh high priests’ by January 15 or else protest dharnas would be staged in front of the office and residence of Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, SGPC President.
After ‘ardas’ at Akal Takht here today, Mr Rajinder Singh, convener, SKP, said Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti and Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedars of Akal Takht and Kesgarh Sahib, respectively, who were facing charges of ‘corruption’ should step down on their own to save Sikh institutions. He said the Sikh ‘sangat’ could not accept that ‘corrupt’ jathedars continued to hold their respective posts.
Mr Rajinder Singh announced that their struggle against ‘corrupt jathedars’ would continue till they were replaced with high priests appointed by the ‘sarbat Khalsa’ as per the Sikh tradition. He said if the Akal Takht Jathedar did not convene ‘sarbat Khalsa’, the panchayat would force him to convene the same through Sikh institutions.
In yet another significant statement, Mr Charnjit Singh Channi, senior leader of the panchayat, gave a call for the ouster of controversial godman Ashutosh Maharaj from Punjab.
He alleged that the Sikh high priests had failed to initiate any action against the Divya Jyoti Jagran Sansthan (DJJS). As a result, its activists had started attacking religious shrines of the Sikhs. Mr Rajinder Singh accused the state government of passing the buck to the Centre as far as imposing a ban on the activities of the DJJS were concerned. He said on December 5, the panchayat would announce sending of ‘shaheedi jathas’ to protect the faith.
To a question, Mr Rajinder Singh said the state government had committed a blunder by sending the police into the SGPC complex on the eve of the SGPC annual election. Asked whether Capt Amarinder Singh should be summoned at Akal Takht for violating ‘maryada’, he said first Mr Parkash Singh Badal, his wife and Mr Sucha Singh Langah should be summoned at Akal Takht for violating ‘maryada’.
