The president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Harjinder Singh Dhami, resigned from his post with immediate effect on Monday.

Dhami’s resignation came days after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh strongly condemned the dismissal of services of Giani Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Damdama Sahib by the SGPC.

Dhami said he is always committed to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs.

Referring to a February 13 Facebook post of Jathedar Raghbir Singh on the termination of services of Giani Harpreet Singh, Dhami said he wrote that removing the latter was “highly condemnable” and “unfortunate”.

“I being ‘pardhan’ (president of SGPC) take responsibility and resign from the post on moral grounds with immediate effect,” he said while addressing the media in Amritsar.

Dhami also said he has written to the Akal Takht Jathedar to relieve him from his position in the seven-member committee formed to supervise the new membership drive of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

On February 13, Giani Raghbir Singh in a Facebook post condemned the dismissal of services of Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.

In the post, he said Giani Harpreet Singh’s removal was “highly condemnable” and “unfortunate” which will harm the independent existence of the ‘Takht Sahibs’.

On December 10, the SGPC had dismissed the services of Giani Harpreet Singh as the jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.

The decision was taken during an executive committee meeting of the SGPC.

The committee accepted a report by a three-member committee formed to probe the allegations against Giani Harpreet Singh in an 18-year-old domestic dispute matter.