‘Had wrong impression that Akal Takht edict applies to all Sikhs,’ Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh hits back at SGPC
Sri Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh also asked Harjinder Singh Dhami to take back his resignation as SGPC president and perform the job assigned to him by the Akal Takht.
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The Jathedar also asked Harjinder Singh Dhami to take back his resignation as SGPC president and perform the job that the Akal Takht had assigned to him. (Photo: Screengrab from Video on X/@SGPCAmritsar)A day after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) asserted that it had the right to probe, appoint or remove Takht Jathedars, Sri Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh hit back on Saturday, saying he had the “wrong impression” that the edict of one of the five seats of temporal authority of Sikhism would apply to Sikhs all over the world.
“Sikhs all around the world look up at Sri Akal Takht Sahib. I had the wrong impression that Akal Takht Sahib’s edict applies to Sikhs all over the world. It was only yesterday that I found out that the Akal Takht’s edict starts and ends within the boundary of the Akal Takht building. This was the message that the SGPC conveyed to me,” Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh told the media on Saturday morning.
Members of the SGPC executive committee had met the Akal Takht Jathedar on Friday.
The Jathedar also asked Harjinder Singh Dhami to take back his resignation as SGPC president and perform the job that the Akal Takht had assigned to him.
On December 2 last year, the Sri Akal Takht Sahib had formed a seven-member committee to reorganise the Shiromani Akali Dal by initiating a membership drive and making arrangements for the election of its top leadership within six months. Dhami was the head of this panel but later asked the Jathedar to relieve him of his duties.
The Jathedar on Saturday asked Dhami to take moral responsibility for the job assigned to him and take back his resignation. “Dhami’s resignation is unfortunate. He is a dedicated Sikh with a clean image. He has given the reason behind his resignation that he resigned while taking moral responsibility for my Facebook post. He said that but if that is morality, I appeal to Dhami to take back his resignation and resume as president and also resume the duty assigned to him on December 2 by the Akal Takht. He should start working with the seven-member committee,” Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said.
Dhami had resigned from the SGPC president’s post after Giani Raghbir Singh condemned the committee’s decision to sack Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh. “Yes, there could be pressure on Dhami to resign. He was upset for the last few months,” Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh said.
The SAD had said that it could not allow the seven-member committee to run a membership drive for the party as it could lead to its registration with the Election Commission of India being cancelled.
Earlier, in a Facebook post, Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had not only rejected the SGPC probe against Giani Harpreet Singh but had also said that the SGPC had no right to do so. Only the Akal Takht could probe the Jathedars of Sikh Takhts, he had said. The SGPC executive committee had reacted by saying that the Facebook post did not mean anything as the Jathedar had not conveyed anything through official channels.
“I had expressed my sentiments on Facebook after the removal of Giani Harpreet Singh. I did not issue any direction to the SGPC,” Giani Raghbir Singh said.
Asked if he would continue as Jathedar, Giani Raghbir Singh said, “We will see what plans almighty has for me. I Will do service as long as almighty allows me.”
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