HSGMC President Loses Support; Tarn Taran By-Poll Nominations Open

On 7 Oct, 17 members of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) announced withdrawal of their support to Committee President Jagdish Singh Jhinda demanding his resignation on moral grounds. At a special meeting held at the committee’s head office, Gurdwara Sahib Patshahi Chhevin in Kurukshetra, under the chairmanship of Senior Vice President Gurmeet Singh Ramsar, members accused Jhinda of 'wrongdoing and arbitrariness' in the functioning of the committee. Vice President Gurbir Singh Talakaur said Jhinda, who was elected president with the backing of 29 members in a 49-member house, no longer holds the majority. He added that despite written requests signed by 17 members—more than the 15 required under the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act, 2014—Jhinda has refused to convene the General House. Meanwhile in Panjab with just 15 months left until state elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) eight councillors in the Sangrur Municipal Council, including the senior vice-president and vice-president, have resigned from the party. They cited 'dissatisfaction' with the municipal council president and the 'indifferent attitude' of senior party leaders. Sangrur is Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's home constituency. Also, Daljit Singh Miyadian, an AAP leader from the Rajasansi constituency and Director of the Punjab Dairy Development Board resigned from the party and joined Akali Dal Waris Punjab along with hundreds of his supporters. While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) is still uncertain, senior SAD leader Jagdeep Singh Cheema has quit his party to join BJP. Concurrently, according to Jasbir Singh Ghumman—the newly appointed general secretary of the parallel SAD headed by Giani Harpreet Singh—the party has completed its structural reorganization and is set to engage with key issues concerning Panjab and the Sikh community at both the state and national levels. The Tarn Taran by-poll nominations opened up on 13 Oct. Undertrail in Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri’s murder case Sandeep Singh alias Sunny’s brother Mandeep Singh is filing papers as an independent candidate (earlier coverage).