Akal Takht, Kesgarh Sahib jathedars call on Dhami amid panthic crisis

Jalandhar: Akal Takht Jathedar Raghbir Singh and Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Sultan Singh visited Shiromani Singh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami, who resigned from his post and has been refusing to withdraw his resignation, at his Hoshiarpur residence on Friday afternoon.
Though Giani Raghbir Singh termed the visit personal, in the present situation, it is hard to miss its significance, as the Jathedar also remarked that SGPC and Akal Takht required people like Dhami.
"He is an honourable personality, honest, a Gursikh with a clean image. We have come to greet his family as Guru blessed him with a grandson, and we have been told that a child was born in the family after around 37 years," he said while coming out of Dhami's place. Responding to a query if there was any talk about Dhami's resignation, he said, "SGPC and Akal Takht require persons who carry an image like him, and such Gursikhs are very important." Asked about the fate of the seven-member committee (formed by Akal Takht for membership enrolment of Akali Dal), which has been reduced to five members after Dhami and former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar's resignation, the Jathedar said, "We are discussing." Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, manager Bhagwant Singh also accompanied the two jathedars.
In the Sikh religio-political circles, it is largely believed that the Jathedar visited Dhami to discuss the issue of his resignation and to explore the possibility of his continuing in the office.
While Dhami remains tight-lipped, sources close to him revealed that he did not find any difference in the situation which pushed him to resign, and he was reluctant to land in the soup once again. Shiromani Akali Dal leadership made it abundantly clear that they would carry out the membership drive in their own way as per the decision taken by the working committee, and the Akal Takht appointed seven-member committee fellows could function as per the roles assigned to them by the party. When Dhami, as head of the committee, failed to find any headway and was already facing a lot of flak from several Sikh quarters, Akal Takht Jathedar's damning statement against the sacking of Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh provided him the final point to extricate himself from the tangled situation.
So far, a small group of senior SAD leaders led by secretary Daljit Singh Cheema and SGPC executive members, including Bikram Singh Majithia, have visited him separately after his resignation. Dhami has been refusing to relent.
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