SGPC members condemn Punjab government in special general meeting commencement

SGPC special meeting: All eyes are on the general house session called by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in Amritsar today. 

The members of SGPC have united in condemning the amendment made to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, by the Punjab Government and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's interference in Sikh affairs.

The special general meeting, which typically occurs twice a year to elect a new president or pass the annual budget of the SGPC, commenced with a keynote address by Gurcharan Singh Grewal, the General Secretary of the Shiromani Committee. Grewal extended a warm welcome to Jathedar Singh Sahib Raghbir Singh, the newly elected leader of Sri Akal Takht Sahib.

Expressing strong disapproval, Grewal emphasized that the Punjab Government should refrain from interfering in Sikh affairs, particularly regarding the amendment to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.

Meanwhile, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur also termed the decision of Punjab Government as a 'direct attack on the religious panth.'

In his address, Shiromani Committee President Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami also rejected the Sikh Gurdwara Amendment Bill 2023 passed by the Punjab Government in the special general meeting.

Dhami said that “this day will be remembered (written) in black letters in the 103-year long history of SGPC, when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Punjab passed an unconstitutional bill by directly interfering in the Gurdwara managements”.