JALANDHAR: After his defeat in Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand, BJP leader S S Ahluwalia lost his election in Takht Patna Sahib Management Board
on Sunday. He lost it to former Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Managing Committee
president Harvinder Singh Sarna, who is also general secretary of SAD
(Delhi). Ahluwalia had earlier remained president of the board for
several years in his Congress days and then after he switched sides to
BJP. Even when he was not president he called the shots in the board and
his confidants controlled it.
With this loss, he has finally
lost the clout in gurudwara management of Patna Sahib, which also
happens to be a Takht of the Sikhs. The SGPC president Avtar Singh
Makkar, who had reached Patna Sahib for the election and had advocated a
consensus, did not cast his vote. Makkar confirmed the development to
TOI on phone from Patna Sahib. "I tried for a consensus and had told
that if election would be held then I would not be casting the vote,"
Makkar said. Sources said Ahluwalia had the support of Parkash Singh
Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal,
but Badal's bete noir Sarna got nine votes, while Ahluwalia could
muster only four votes. The board had 14 members (Makkar abstained from
voting) and it was to elected 15th member.
Now, after three
weeks its president and other office bearers would be elected. It is
learnt that Makkar preferred to stay away from voting after it was clear
to him that majority of the members were siding with Sarna and when he
advocated consensus these members said that then consensus should be on
Sarna to which Makkar could not agree and said that some other name
should be suggested. Sarna had said that he would support election of a
local member as the president. Earlier, leaders from Punjab had also
been holding the post which had not been going down well with local
community leaders.
Former SGPC secretary general Manjit Singh
Calcutta said during Operation Bluestar and during subsequent turbulent
times for Sikhs, Ahluwalia sided with Congress but now apparently SAD
was siding with him due to his political ends, as he was now in BJP.
"This election has also confirmed that SAD's influence was confining to
Punjab alone and it was losing confidence of Sikhs living in other
states," he said, adding "diaspora Sikhs have already rejected the
changes affected by SGPC in Nanakshahi calendar".
with thanks : Times of India :
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