Amarinder link, corruption cost jathedar his job

Announcing the SGPC decision, Badungar said the expulsion followed an inquiry against the jathedar. ‘‘His actions were damaging the image of Kesgarh Saheb,’’ he said, denying charges that the decision was taken under pressure from the Shiromani Khalsa Panchayat (SKP).

Prof Manjit Singh and former Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh had come under cloud for procuring and selling plots under the banner of Gurmat Sagar Trust, a charitable body. He was an accused in a land-grab case. However, for a priest, charges of moral turpitude were more damning. Giani Bhagwan Singh, head granthi of the Akal Takht, had publicly accused Manjit Singh of having illicit relations with a woman in Bareilly.

SKP leaders like Kashmir Singh, Mangal Singh, H.P Singh and Harinderpal PROF Manjit Singh had become suspect in the eyes of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) last year when he honoured Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh with a siropa at Anandpur Sahib. An honour he had been denied by the SGPC authorities at the Golden Temple. That was the beginning of a series of events which made the continuation of Patiala-based Manjit Singh untenable for both the SGPC and the Akali Dal.

Unlike the other jathedars, including Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti, Prof Manjit Singh has never hesitated to take on the Akali Dal or SGPC. Last week, when the issue of women performing service at the Golden Temple arose, it was Prof Manjit Singh who queered the pitch, and not Vedanti even though it was he who had given this assurance in an interview to a UK-based radio station.

It was Manjit Singh who told the world that he had issued a hukumnama accepting the right of the women, something SGPC chief Badungar found difficult to stomach.