GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 20

Amid the controversy over the ‘non-baptised’ members included in the century-old Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD), its management has assured the scrutinising panel constituted by the Akal Takht of cooperation.

Earlier, the management had shown constraints to submit the credentials of its members to the Akal Takht.

Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh confirmed that the CKD president Nirmal Singh had paid a visit and agreed to cooperate the panel that was constituted to probe the authenticity of CKD members.

The panel members included SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur, former additional secretary of SGPC Balwinder Singh Jaurasingha, Amarjit Singh of GNDU and Manjit Kaur, principal of Sikh Missionary College, as its coordinator. They had asked the CKD to submit the details of the members and requisite documentation for perusal by December 16.

In reply, the CKD management wrote a letter addressed to Manjit Kaur showing its inability to submit the details as the record was to be submitted for another court case on identical issue and it refrained from submitting the record elsewhere.

Now, the CKD president assured to cooperate the panel. Balwinder Singh Jaursingha said that the CKD had been asked to submit the documentation. “It is to see whether the CKD management cooperates or not? Likewise, we will submit the report to the Akal Takht”, he said.

As per the CKD constitution, a ‘patit’ or ‘non-amritdhari’, the aspirant who does not partake Amrit as per Sikh tenets, could not become its member.

After receiving complaints about defying this clause, Giani Harpreet Singh had put a blanket ban on induction of the fresh members and summoned the CKD management along with the record pertaining to the members of the CKD. However, even after lapse of several months, the CKD management failed to abide by it.