Akal Takht Jathedar 'Resigns': Churn In Panthic Politics Intensifies

Giani Harpreet Singh has finally given up on his additional duty of the Akal Takht Jathedar. Or so is being made out by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami. 

The circumstances around the recent events raise more questions than answers, given how Jathedar ji is on a foreign tour currently. 

He will now only handle Takht Damdama Sahib while pursuing his academic interests. And as had been discussed in the Punjabi media over the past few days of speculations on his future, he shall now be succeeded by Giani Raghbir Singh, who coincidentally is also taking additional charge as Jathedar of the Takht Keshgarh Sahib. 

Rumour also had it that the successor would be Badal family loyalist Virsa Singh Valtoha.

Indeed, he was leading the charge against Giani Harpreet Singh, asking why a siropa was given to Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Punjab Raghav Chadha and his fiance Parineeti Chopra on their engagement ceremony.

That the incident was not well received could also be gauged by the coverage of PTC News, which is owned by the Badal family. 

However, there also seems to be more to the whole episode than meets the eye.

After the 2022 assembly elections rout, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal had set up the Jhundan committee as part of the process to understand the reasons.

Among the recommendations that emerged there were two points that were rather problematic for the Badal family especially — resignation of all people from all posts; and apology from the Akal Takht for not acting on the beadbi incidents in the past when in power.

Both these points have remained a bone of contention ever since. There were stories in Punjabi media tracing back to highly placed sources that senior Akali leaders had been trying to convince Giani Harpreet Singh to grant a pardon in a public event while shying away from acting on the resignation recommendation. 

However, Giani Harpreet Singh continually pushed back, insisting that all the 36 recommendations be implemented by the Akali Dal (Badal) leadership. One such reported anecdote actually attributed Giani ji bluntly telling the leaders to get Badal to first resign from his position as head of the party if he wanted a pardon. 

Of course, this was not the first time that we had Giani Harpreet Singh in controversy or the Akal Takht Jathedar being in the eye of a storm. 

However, what has been rather interesting is that there seem to be signs of the fact that the SGPC has been in a major churn. As had been highlighted earlier as well, factions of the SGPC had been seeking to break away from the SAD(B).

Bibi Jagir Kaur was already talking to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and given the fact that she had polled 40 votes in the recent presidential elections, this was a significant rupture. 

Now, there has been a lot of news floating around of alleged proximity between Giani Harpreet Singh and the Home Minister of India, Amit Shah. This 'rumour' was also touted as a reason for the ouster of the Jathedar. 

It must, however, be pointed out that there has been a lot of interactions, that too rather public, between BJP leaders and Giani Harpreet Singh. 

One particular point of contention under much discussion has also been the release of “Bandi Singh”. In the past and even recently, BJP leaders have reiterated their stand that they are willing to look in to credible demands for release of convicts who have spent well past their jail terms. 

Of course, the question of Balwant Singh Rajoana remains a concern. His sister Kamaljit Kaur had rather publicly blasted the outgoing Jathedar without taking names on his plea to ‘stop seeking justice from the governments for Operation Bluestar'. 

Quoting her brother, Kamaljit wrote, “Rajoana has said that if we are to stop demanding justice for the community, then we might as well go to the weddings of the rulers, relish their laddoos, do a bhangra, and enjoy the Z-class security”, in a clear reference to Giani Harpreet Singh’s presence at Raghav Chadha’s wedding.

Of course, questions were also raised on the status of the long-standing petition with the Supreme Court wherein then SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra had sought Rs 1,000 crore as damages to make the government feel ashamed.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly asked that the matter be settled publicly; however, on more than one occasion, Panthic politics forced the impasse to carry on. 

This latest move, therefore, is a clear attempt by Sukhbir Singh Badal of drawing the line. Badal has been trying to reach out to former leaders and requesting them to unite for the cause of the Panth, even apologising a week back for errors on his part.

However, the crackdown on the Jathedar and his standing is a signal to the SGPC and associated leaders to not think that they are beyond the SAD(B). Will a faction of the SGPC break away and engage with other parties?

Given how the very relevance of SGPC is at stake due to the rather sorry state of the SAD(B), it would not be a surprise if deeper fissures appear in the days to come.