Ambala:
Haryana Group Sikh Community The legislators, led by former Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) vice-chairman Didar Singh Narvi, have demanded that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini hold the HSGMC elections ahead of the state assembly polls.
The MoU was signed and sent under the banner of the Sikh Samaj Sanstha. Chief Minister of HaryanaThis Sikh group Gurdwara at Panjokhra Sahib in Ambala district on Sunday.
Though the term of the government-appointed council of HSGMC is said to have ended on May 31, 2024, the lapsed committee is still functioning and spending lakhs of rupees daily. Guru’s Gorak (Donation boxes) is an issue the current government is well aware of. They say the government should step in and immediately stop “ghost committees” squandering gurdwara funds.
“It is also true that currently there is no official authority to manage the affairs of the Gurdwara, while the old authority is functioning without being expanded, which is totally illegal,” the memorandum said.
The Sikh Samaj Sanstha said the Haryana Gurdwara Election Commission had completed all work for conducting the HSGMC elections and had announced March 7, 2024, as the election date, but it had to be postponed due to the Haryana School Board examinations and Assembly elections.
“As Assembly elections are currently underway, it is the duty of the government to immediately hold the gurdwara elections. To delay the gurdwara elections, the Haryana government has decided to hold the municipal elections first and then the state assembly elections, which is tantamount to denying the electoral right to control the holy sites of Sikhs in Haryana,” they said.
Sikh groups prayed for the Gurdwara elections in Haryana to be held before the municipal and state assembly elections in the state.
Didar Singh Narvi said, “Conducting gurdwara elections is the constitutional duty of the government and it should be done without any delay like state and assembly elections. The Haryana government and the Gurdwara Election Commission have already exceeded the stipulated eight-month deadline.”
