Chandigarh: The president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Harjinder Singh Dhami, has stepped down with immediate effect on Monday, he informed at a press conference.
His resignation came days after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh strongly condemned the dismissal of Giani Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Damdama Sahib by the SGPC. Dhami said he is always committed to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs.
Referring to a February 13 Facebook post of Jathedar Raghbir Singh on the termination of services of Giani Harpreet Singh, Dhami said he wrote that removing the latter was "highly condemnable" and "unfortunate".
In the post, Jathedar Raghbir Singh said Giani Harpreet Singh's removal was "highly condemnable" and "unfortunate" which will harm the independent existence of the 'Takht Sahibs'.
"I being 'pardhan' (president) take responsibility and resign from the post on moral grounds with immediate effect," he said in Amritsar, adding that he has written to the Akal Takht Jathedar to relieve him from his position in the seven-member committee formed to supervise the new membership drive of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
On December 10, the SGPC dismissed the services of Giani Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda. The decision was taken during an executive committee meeting of the SGPC.
The committee accepted a report by a three-member committee formed to probe the allegations against Giani Harpreet Singh in an 18-year-old domestic dispute case.
It is worth mentioning that Dhami has a long association with SGPC. Born in 1956, he holds a BA and LLB and has been associated with the legal profession for over four decades. He became an SGPC member in 1996 and was elected its General Secretary in 2019, after which he took over the administrative post of the Chief Secretary in 2020. He became the president in November 2021 and has retained the post for three consecutive terms.
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