Amritsar: As per the media reports after being re-appointed as Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (HSGMC) chief earlier this month, Jagdish Singh Jhinda here on Friday served an ultimatum to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), seeking the framing of a policy on the appointment, removal and service rules of Takht Jathedars.
Jagdish Singh Jhinda along with the representatives of 21 different Sikh organisations from Haryana, performed an ‘ardas’ at the Akal Takht Sahib to launch a campaign against the current policies of the SGPC .
Furthermore, he asserted that failure to lay down the asked norms within the period of one month will invite an agitation that would be initiated by the Haryana Sikhs.
“We want to free the Five Takhts of political interference,” he added.
The SGPC had constituted a panel in January 2015 to frame rules governing the appointment, jurisdiction and removal of the Takht Jathedars. The panel, which has met just once so far, has been lying defunct. The need to form an expert panel was felt after the ‘politically motivated’ dismissal of the then Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, who had favoured the original Nanakshahi calendar, notes The Tribune (TT).