Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) House on Wednesday elected Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Harjinder Singh Dhami as the president for the third consecutive term. Dhami defeated Balbir Singh Ghunas of the Sanyukt Akali Dal to retain the gurdwara body’s top post. As many as 137 members were present as the House voted for the annual presidential elections on Wednesday. Out of the 137 votes polled by SGPC members, Dhami got 118 and Ghunas got only 17 votes. Two votes were declared invalid. Last year, 146 members had participated in the voting. The SGPC House was elected in 2011 and had a one-year term. However, the same House is functioning as SGPC elections have been delayed. As many as 30 members of the 185-member SGPC House have passed away. Meanwhile, in its general assembly in Amritsar, the SGPC also appealed to political authorities to come together for the release of Sikh prisoners. The general assembly urged both the central and state governments to reconsider their stance and comply with the directives of Sri Akal Takht Sahib to collectively work towards the release of Sikh prisoners. “It's also regrettable that the SGPC recently submitted 26 lakh signatures to the Punjab Governor for the release of Sikh prisoners, but no appointment was given from the governor’s office. The Union government had issued a notification for the release of eight Sikh prisoners. It has still not been compiled,” it said. Talking to the media after being elected as president, Dhami said that with the blessing of the Guru, he got this Sewa (service) for the third time. Thanking the entire House of SGPC members, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, and senior leaders of the party, Dhami said that he will try to ensure that the services of the representative body of the Sikh community are carried out keeping in mind the community’s sentiments. Responding to a question from the media, the newly elected SGPC president said that today's election result shows that the entire party members are united and they trust their party. Dhami said while the general elections of the SGPC are coming ahead, the times are challenging for the community as there are several Panthic issues to be dealt with. He said whether it is the Centre or the Punjab government, there is interference in the voter registration process. He raised an apprehension that the Gurdwara Election Commission was giving little time for SGPC’s voter registration process. It appears to be the government's intention to register fewer Sikh voters so that they are shown as a minority in Punjab, Dhami said. Meanwhile, SGPC member Harbhajan Singh Masana was elected unopposed as senior vice-president, Gurbakhsh Singh Khalsa as junior vice-president and Rajinder Singh Mehta as general secretary in the House. Eleven members of the SGPC’s executive committee include Mohan Singh Bangi, Raghbir Singh Saharanmajra, Jasmer Singh Lachhru, Khushwinder Singh Bhatia, Bibi Hardeep Kaur Khokh, Indermohan Singh Lakhmirwala, Gurpreet Singh Jhabbar, Bibi Malkit Kaur Kamalpur, Amarjit Singh Bhalaipur, Bibi Jaspal Kaur, and Jaswant Singh Purain.
