In a clear violation of the spirit of dedication to God and Guru, repeated ad nauseam, through Ardas and public promises delivered door to door during electioneering and utter disrespect of the mandate of the Sikh Sangat, DSGMC newly-elected Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi member Sukhbir Singh Kalra switched sides to join the Shiromani Akali Dal Badal. He had defeated Ravinder Singh Khurana from the Swaroop Nagar ward by 121 votes. A rich construction builder, the two-time DSGMC member, who spewed venom on Facebook against DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa and the Badal Dal, had no qualms in telling a section of the media that he was becoming a turncoat, so that “he could do Sewa and not be a hurdle to Sewa.” His body language, though, belied his stand and he appeared clearly rattled at his own stand. WSN editor Jagmohan Singh analyses the painful development and proposes the tasks ahead.

Barely 5 days have passed since the election results of the DSGMC, the oath-taking has not taken place and we have an elected member Sukhbir Singh Kalra of the Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi shifting stand to become a member of the winning side of Sirsa -Shiromani Akali Dal Badal, as there is no legal or moral authority barring him or anyone from doing so.

As political parties in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra take away their elected MLAs to unreachable places to protect them from being poached by the opposition, all 27 Badal Dal members of the DSGMC are camping in Holiday Inn Hotel in Zirakpur, Chandigarh. Paramjit Singh Sarna-led Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi, having faith in their winning candidates, did not do so.

At the press conference, DSGMC defeated member Manjinder Singh Sirsa, DSGMC presidential candidate Harmeet Singh Kalka welcomed Sukhbir Singh Kalra and shamelessly raised victory signs as if they had won a battle. 

Historically speaking, sadly DSGMC members have the dubious distinction of being turncoats and the parties indulging in horse-trading to consolidate their position and to show the opposition in poor light. In that sense, this development is nothing new. 

According to information gathered by WSN, the desertion of Sukhbir Singh Kalara has purportedly been engineered by former DSGMC member Bhajan Singh Walia, who was also in Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi before leaving the party.  Speaking to the media, Sukhbir Singh Kalra unashamedly said, “More would join.” A few names are already doing the rounds.  

Historically speaking, sadly DSGMC members have the dubious distinction of being turncoats and the parties indulging in horse-trading to consolidate their position and to show the opposition in poor light. In that sense, this development is nothing new. 

Understandably, the Sikh Sangat and the party who was responsible for Sukhbir Singh Kalra’s victory at the polls feel cheated. Kalra is incommunicado.

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Religious and political circles in Delhi are bewildered at the development as with a majority of 27 seats, there was no need for Badal Dal to be crafty in so doing. Was this to further consolidate their own position and weaken the Paramjit Singh Sarna-led Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi? Was it to overawe those within the Badal Dal, who may have been thinking about deserting to the opposition to bargain for more leverage in the DSGMC?

Understandably, the Sikh Sangat and the party who was responsible for Sukhbir Singh Kalra’s victory at the polls feel cheated. Kalra is incommunicado.

As a runup to the elections, Sukhbir Singh Kalra spared no effort to call Manjinder Singh Sirsa names, in one post after another on Facebook. He called upon Sangat not to vote for “thieves.”  In his 19 August post, he said “President Sirsa has looted Sangat, Gurughar and Dasvandh.” In a pictorial attack, he declared Sirsa to be “Golakchor Sirsa.”  

Who are the real thieves? 

The Delhi Sangat has to identify the ‘thieves’ to whichever party or group they belong to and consign them to the dustbins of history by constantly exposing their deeds and unrelentingly pursuing them for accountability. 

It will be interesting to see how the ex-officio members of DSGMC -the Jathedars of four Takhts, when they are present at the co-option meet, will deal with this development if at all they deal with it. 

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The Delhi Sangat has to identify the ‘thieves’ to whichever party or group they belong to and consign them to the dustbins of history by constantly exposing their deeds and unrelentingly pursuing them for accountability. 

Till we have the elections as the form of electing representatives of historic Gurdwara Committees, It is also time for vigorously seeking change in the provisions of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Management Act, to avoid horsetrading and punish such candidates by making them ineligible for contesting elections for all times to come.