SAD factions to celebrate 100th birth anniversary of Gurcharan Singh Tohra today
Years after his death, the Shiromani Akali Dal and its breakaway faction are finally united over the issue of celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of late Akali stalwart Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra on Tuesday, albeit separately.
Both factions eye the rich legacy of Tohra who was the longest serving president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and still commands a lot of respect among the panthic Sikh vote bank, a rarity for anyone who died almost over two decades ago.
The Shiromani Akali Dal and the rebels who have formed the SAD Sudhar Lehar want to make the most of the Tohra’s rich panthic legacy with separate programmes planned for Tuesday.
The SAD will celebrate Tohra’s 100th birth anniversary at Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib where the SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder will lead the events. The event is likely to be attended by almost the entire senior SAD leadership, including former ministers and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami among others. Following the bhog, there will be a kirtan darbar to be attended by SAD leaders and workers.
The other faction, which includes former ministers Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Rakhra and Tohra’s family, has planned a parallel event at Tohra village. “Tohra Sahib was a tall leader and we are holding an event at his native village to be attended by his family and all other leaders who believe in his rich legacy. The SAD event in Patiala is merely opportunist politics to cash in on panthic votes,” said Prem Singh Chandumajra.
