Baljit Singh Daduwal appeals to Amit Shah to hold SGPC General House elections

Amritsar, September 26

Former Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) president Baljit Singh Daduwal has appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to hold General House elections of the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) as soon as possible as these had been delayed for several years. The Union minister was in the city to attend the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council.

Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Baljit Singh Daduwal said the SGPC election was held over a decade ago. He said as per the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, the elections were to be held after a gap of five years. He said it was high time that the Centre must intervene and conduct the elections for the Sikh religious body.

After the Punjab Vigilance Bureau issued a lookout notice against former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal in a corruption case, Daduwal expressed his astonishment on his going underground. Daduwal recalled that he was the same leader who used to flaunt simplicity and down to earth demeanour. He said despite being given a chauffeur driven car, Manpreet preferred to drive himself. Daduwal appealed to Indian and Canadian governments to cooperate in tracking those who eliminated Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Manjeet Singh Bhoma, president, Punjab Dharam Prachar Committee, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), demanded that the government should release Sikh political prisoners, who were languishing in jails for the past over three decades. He said the government had shown magnanimity in releasing over 90,000 Pakistani army personnel captured during the 1971 war. He recalled that even the then Rajiv Gandhi government had released 365 Sikh detainees of the Jodhpur jail after five years sentence. He said the DSGMC would kick off a drive against drugs in Punjab from next month.