In the first week of January 2025, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government released the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) election voter lists. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has raised concerns about irregularities in the voter lists alleging the registration of ‘bogus’ voters, including non-Sikhs, and the deletion of genuine voters. A delegation led by SAD ex-president Sukhbir Singh Badal and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami met the Gurdwara Elections chief commissioner, Justice (retd) Surinder Singh Saron, to demand an extension of the voter registration deadline to 31 Mar and the removal of ineligible voters. The Akal Takht (Eternal Throne; AT) Jathedar (leader), Giani Raghbir Singh, had called a meeting of the Panj Singh Sahiban (five loved ones) on 28 Jan to discuss the SAD’s non-compliance with the Hukamnama (decree) issued on 2 Dec 2024, which demanded Badal’s resignation as party president and the formation of a committee to elect new leadership within six months (WD Vol 3, Issue 2, Story 4). While the SAD completed the religious penance, Badal’s resignation was accepted, SAD delayed implementing the other political directives. On 25 Jan, SAD expelled their national general secretary Gurjeet Singh Talwandi and grandson of former SGPC president and leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi. Gurjeet had earlier written to the AT to ensure that the new membership drive takes place under the leadership of the seven-member committee set up by the AT. On 26 Jan, Giani Raghbir Singh deferred the meeting prompting Giani Harpreet Singh to allege that efforts are on to terminate him from being Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib. Amid these developments, tensions within other Sikh camps have surfaced with Simranjit Singh Mann of SAD (Amritsar) criticising Amritpal Singh’s camp of diluting the Khalistan agenda and aligning with constitutional frameworks.
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