The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday decided to put Harjinder Singh Dhami’s resignation as its president on hold and said that a five-member panel would meet him and discuss the issue. Dhami had resigned on February 17, days after the SGPC sacked Giani Harpreet Singh as the Jathedar of the Takht Damdama Sahib near Bathinda, one of the five seats of temporal authority of Sikhism like the Akal Takht in Amritsar. The SGPC executive committee also said on Friday that it has the full authority to probe, appoint, or remove any Jathedar of the three Sikh Takhts in Punjab. Earlier, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had asserted that only the Akal Takht had the authority to investigate the Jathedars of the Sikh Takhts. “We have formed a five-member committee that will meet Dhami to discuss his decision to resign,” SGPC executive committee member Raghujit Singh Virk said at a press conference after the meeting at the SGPC headquarters. The executive committee also brought a copy of the SGPC Act and read out relevant portions to emphasise that the SGPC has the necessary authority over the Jathedars. “It is stated in the Act that the SGPC can probe, appoint, and remove the Jathedars. We will also be meeting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh after this press conference,” Sher Singh Mandwala, an executive committee member, said. Earlier, the Shiromani Akali Dal had requested Dhami to withdraw his resignation.
