A day before the special general house session of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) — known as the Sikhs’ mini parliament, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said that the Sikh body will announce an “already decided verdict” on Monday as per the “directions of their masters”.

Mincing no words, Mann said that the Sikhs’ premier organization has now become a stooge in the hands of its masters, and the entire exercise to call the SGPC’s general house meeting is “just a sham”.

Taking to Twitter, Mann claimed that the SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has been summoned to the SAD office in Chandigarh where Akali Dal leaders (Sikander Singh) Maluka, (Prem Singh) Chandumajra, (Balwinder Singh) Bhunder, and (Daljit Singh) Cheema are holding a “closed-door meeting” with him.

Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi, claimed that Dhami will be handed over a decision taken by the Badals and he will just announce this decision in the SGPC meeting scheduled for tomorrow (June 26-Monday).

Notably, a special General Session of the SGPC has been convened on Monday against the amendment made to the Sikh Gurudwara Act, 1925, by the aam Aadmi party (AAP) led Punjab Government and approved by the Vidhan Sabha by convening a special session the previous week.

“It is unfortunate that the premier organization has now become a stooge in the hands of its masters. The meeting is just a sham as the decision has been already pre-scripted by the Akali leadership. The decision has been finalized and the announcement is just a formality,” he said in a statement later.

The Chief Minister said that this can be well-judged from the fact that the SGPC president has been already summoned in the Akali Dal office, at Chandigarh. “The President is been dictated decision by Maluka, Chandumajra, Bhunder, Cheema, Gabriya, and others who are present in the meeting…These leaders are apprising the decision of the Badal family to the President regarding opposition of Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023,” he added.

“The decision has been dictated, decided, and delivered by the Badal family,” he said, adding that this pre-scripted decision will be announced by the SGPC president on Monday.

The Chief Minister said that the state assembly has already passed the Sikh Gurudwaras Amendment Bill, 2023, which will be sent to the Governor for his nod. “This Bill envisages free to air telecast of the sacred Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib for all the audio or video platforms,” said Mann, adding that the State Government's decision is already being welcomed by every section of society.

Don’t Worry About SAD: Valtoha to Mann

Reacting to Chief Minister Mann’s tweet, senior SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha on Sunday asked the AAP leader not to worry about Akali Dal. Taking to Twitter, Valtoha attacked the AAP leader saying that SAD’s all decisions are taken in Punjab, unlike AAP’s wherein decisions were taken in Delhi.

“Don't worry about Shiromani Akali Dal so much. It can be bad for your health. People like me are very worried about your health because of your over consumption of “madd”…As far as Akali Dal is concerned, its decisions are made on the soil of Punjab. Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami is the president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee where he is also the leader of Akali Dal. Like the ‘jhadu party’, our decisions and tweets do not reach Delhi. So many tweets are not good…it can harm the health,” he tweeted.

Concluding his tweet with a “warning”, Valtoha said: “Too much ‘madd’ and too many tweets are dangerous for health…It is more dangerous to tweet after drinking, than driving after drinking.”

SGPC Special General House Today

In a bid to decide its future course of action to oppose the recent amendment made to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, by the Punjab Government, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami has convened a special general house session at Teja Singh Samundri Hall on June 26 (Monday).

The session is termed “special” as the general house meeting usually took place twice a year to elect the new president or to pass the annual budget of the SGPC. Letters have been sent to SGPC’s 156 members and Panj Singh Sahibans (five Sikh high priests) inviting them to participate in the meeting.

Notably, the SGPC members have expressed strong displeasure with the AAP-led Punjab Government’s alleged “direct interference” in the Sikhs religious affairs.

It has been learnt that the SGPC house may pass a resolution to block the amendment via Court. It is also believed that the house may also pass a resolution endorsing the SGPC to launch its own satellite channel.

Before this, SGPC had also convened a special session in March this year in the wake of Haryana Government enacting the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras Management (HSGM) Act, 2014. A resolution was then unanimously passed urging the Centre to repeal the Act.