At centre of row between Akali Dal, Akal Takht, who is Jathedar Harpreet Singh

However, Akal Takht Jathedar Raghbir Singh immediately intervened and issued a directive to the SGPC not to accept Harpreet Singh’s resignation, threatening that otherwise he will quit too. The Akal Takht in Amritsar is the highest temporal body of Sikhs.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami did not accept Harpreet Singh’s resignation, asserting that the SGPC stood by him.

On Friday, Harpreet Singh held a meeting with Akal Takht Jathedar Raghbir Singh, following which he said: “After a directive by Akal Takht Jathedar and SGPC, I have decided to withdraw my resignation. I will continue to serve the panth in whatever manner I can.”

On Tuesday, Valtoha had appeared before the Akal Takht, which held him “guilty of character assassination of the Sikh clergy” and ordered the Akali Dal to expel him from the party for 10 years. Subsequently, Valtoha resigned from the SAD.

Valtoha was summoned by the Akal Takht after his purported remarks that Jathedars were allegedly under pressure of the BJP and RSS as well as the Sikh diaspora in delaying resolution of the matter of SAD president Sukhbir Badal. He questioned the “delay” in announcing the “tankhah” (religious punishment) for Sukhbir, who was declared “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht on August 30 for the “mistakes” committed by the previous SAD-led government from 2007 to 2017. He was said to have “failed” to produce any evidence to substantiate his charges.

Harpreet Singh belongs to a Dalit Sikh family from Gidderbaha in Muktsar district. His father was a village granthi. He graduated from Guru Kashi Gurmat Institute and joined the SGPC as a preacher in 1997. He was appointed as the head granthi of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Muktsar in 1999. He completed his Master’s degree in religious studies from Panjab University. Currently, he is doing his Ph.D in comparative study of the teachings of the Quran and the Guru Granth Sahib.

In April 2017, the SGPC appointed Harpreet Singh as the Jathedar of the Damdama Sahib Takht

at Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda district, replacing Giani Gurmukh Singh, who had issued statements against the SGPC alleging that the Akali Dal top brass had dictated terms to the Sikh clergy for giving “pardon” to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in October 2015 that was later revoked.

In October 2018, Harpreet Singh was named the Acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht as well, a position from which he resigned in June last year following a controversy over his attendance in the engagement ceremony of AAP leader Raghav Chadha and Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra.

Raghbir Singh then took over as the Akal Takht Jathedar.

In April last year, radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is now an MP from Khadoor Sahib, had asked Harpreet Singh to call a Sarbat Khalsa at Talwandi Sabo on the Baisakhi day. He instead organised a seminar of the Sikh scholars at the Damdama Sahib Takht on April 7. Amritpal was subsequently arrested under the National Security Act and has since been in the Dibrugarh jail in Assam.

The current row has again pushed the crisis-ridden Akali Dal to the back foot as Harpreet Singh alleged that the party’s social media wing was helping Valtoha. It is another matter that the Damdama Sahib Takht Jathedar had earlier said that the SAD, a panthic party, must be “strong” in Punjab.

A large section of the Sikh community and even leaders cutting across party lines — including Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann and Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa — have extended their support to Harpreet Singh and slammed the former SAD leader.

The Akali Dal leadership has now also distanced itself from Valtoha. SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder told The Indian Express: ”We apologise for every remark made by Valtoha. We will not tolerate anything against the Jathedars. Valtoha had visited the Akal Takht on Tuesday in his personal capacity and spoke independently. But since he was SAD leader, he should have consulted the party before speaking anything. If anyone commits such a mistake again, we will expel that person from the party — and I will myself step down as I can’t tolerate anything against our Jathedars.”