As Haryana Sikh body’s top functionaries quit amid raging feud, SAD has last laugh

A video has also gone viral, which is purportedly of heated exchanges between the members of the panel during a meeting held at the Panjokhra Sahib Gurdwara on August 14. The Akal Takht Jathedar has formed a sub-committee to look into the HSGMC infighting, which would start its probe on September 7.

After the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014 in September last year, the Khattar government set up a 38-member interim HSGMC to manage the affairs of the state’s gurdwaras, whose tenure is to expire in 18 months pending the first election of the body.

The BJP’s erstwhile ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by Sukhbir Badal, had been opposed to the formation of the HSGMC from the outset as it did not want the body to take over the control of gurdwaras in Haryana from the SAD-controlled Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

However, Sikh leaders like preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal, who had been political rivals of the SAD in panthic politics, supported the BJP-led government’s bid to go ahead with the HSGMC.

The HSGMC’s interim body took over 52 gurdwaras and around 2,500 acres of agricultural land from the SGPC in Haryana. It presented the first budget of Rs 106 crore for 2022-23. However, it was various budget allocations that started the tussle between the HSGMC members.

While blaming the SAD for allegedly misusing the SGPC and poor management of gurdwaras, a section of Haryana Sikh leaders backed the formation of the HSGMC following the enactment of the 2014 legislation, promising to ensure better services and management of gurdwaras in the state.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Baljit Singh Daduwal, who is a member of the ad-hoc panel, admitted that the infighting in its team within a few months of its constitution would send a negative message to the Sikh community.

“It was unfortunate that Mahant, a SAD man, was made the ad-hoc panel head. Mahant made things worse by taking the matter of infighting to Akal Takht. He should have resolved it within the house. But now he has provided the opportunity to SAD to use its influence with HSGMC.”

Daduwal used to allege in the past that the Akal Takht jathedars worked under the influence of the SAD. A Sarbat Khalsa held in Amritsar in 2015 had even appointed him as a parallel jathedar of the Takht Damdama Sahib in an escalation of conflict with the SGPC.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Gurvinder Singh Dhamija said, “CM Khattar has very good intentions for Sikhs. However, some people close to him have used Karamjit Singh Mahant to misuse the latter’s power for new appointments and allotment of funds. The same people had approached me also to conspire against Mahant and misuse the funds. But I had declined. Later, they roped in Mahant.”

It is not the first time that the anti-SAD Sikh groups have been taking on each other. The SAD has lost two consecutive Assembly elections in Punjab since 2017, while also putting up a poor showing in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, the party has still managed to keep its hold on the SGPC despite these electoral setbacks. Even the SAD’s rival Sikh groups, who had gathered for the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa, could not sustain their campaign against the party.

The HSGMC became functional after years of legal battle. However, the resignation of the two top functionaries of the ad hoc panel has signalled its deep crisis. The development has also come as a relief for the SAD ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, even as the elections of the HSGMC and SGPC are also pending. The SAD has always claimed that it is the only party that could really champion the cause of the Sikh community.