Barely 8 of the 15 members of the Takht Patna Sahib Committee will meet on 22 March in a last-ditch effort to delay the election process for a new Committee and to pass a budget which it is not entitled to do. As the term of the present Takht Sri Harmandir Ji Patna Saheb Management Committee is to terminate on 14 July 2023, the present leadership which has the covert blessings of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh prevaricating and making attempts to cling on to the pedestal, Sikh reform and advocacy body The Sikh Collective has written a missive to the District Judge of Patna seeking intervention. A WSN Exclusive.

WILL the Nitish Kumar government ensure transparency in the conduct of elections to the Takht Patna Saheb Committee? Will he stop the interference of the BJP in Sikhs affairs in Patna and Bihar? Will there be reform in the rules, regulations, and functioning of the Takth Management Committee with a Chief Minister at the helm who has publicly demonstrated his love and affinity for the Sikhs? These and many more such questions will get answers in the coming weeks and months.

As the Bihar State Election Authority has made the preliminary steps setting in motion the process of preparing fresh electoral rolls, addressing a letter to the District and Sessions Judge Shri Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, The Sikh Collective has categorically stated that any delay in the start of the election process would be a violation under the Bylaws of the Committee and would be seen as against Sikh interests.

Jagmohan Singh has unmistakenly stated that “Should the President, Senior Vice President, and General Secretary who are the executive authority to conduct elections and do everything relating thereto, be non-cooperative in this regard, then appropriate steps may be taken as the mandated by law.”

The letter states that “We are aware that the present incumbents of the Committee -who took charge only a few months back -31 December 2022 have not initiated any steps to refresh electoral rolls and start the election process. It is grossly tragic to note that only 7 of the 15 members of the executive committee were present to elect the President and other office bearers, as one member has passed away, there is a pending court case about the nominee of the Sanatani Sikh Sabha, three nominees of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Sri Guru Singh Sabha Kolkata respectively are pending approval with your office since long and two members have been declared Tankhaiya by Sri Akal Takht Sahib and as they have not taken any further steps in that direction their status continues to be the same. The representative of the Uttar Pradesh Sikh Pratinidhi Board was absent from the meeting. Clearly, a lame-duck body elected office bearers who are now thwarting the democratic electoral process.”

“Should the President, Senior Vice President, and General Secretary who are the executive authority to conduct elections and do everything relating thereto, be non-cooperative in this regard, then appropriate steps may be taken as the mandated by law.”

Jagmohan Singh, Convenor, The Sikh Collective

Meanwhile, the Bihar State Election Authority, which has to conduct the elections as per a previous Patna High Court order has taken the first steps of asking Prabandhak Committee Sri Takht Harimander Ji, Patna Saheb to prepare the electoral rolls.

Speaking to The World Sikh News, Charanjit Singh Saluja, a member of the Takht Committee and an authority on Takht Patna Sahib affairs said, “I feel very sad. I see our Takht Committee members doing grave injustice to the Sikh Sangat and to the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.” He said that he has written a letter to the Secretary of the Bihar State Election Authority urging them to expedite the preparation of the voters’ list for the Patna Takht Committee. His letter states that “Article 12 of the Consitution and Bylaws of the Takht states that the Electoral rolls shall be maintained by the Committee and the said rolls shall be kept ready three months prior to the elections.”

The learned legal advisor of the Committee alleged that the office bearers want to hold on to the Committee by hook or by crook and that he was determined to uphold the practice of democratic norms in Takht management affairs.

“The 31 December meeting was only to elect the President. There was no other agenda. The President-elect Jagjot Singh maneuvered the election of the other office bearers, and because it was outside the scope of the meeting, their election must be scrapped.”

Charanjit Singh Saluja, Member, Takht Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib Committee

Speaking to WSN, Charanjit Singh Saluja raised many questions relating to the conduct of the present incumbents of the Takht Patna Sahib Committee.

“The meeting of 22 March should not be in a hurry to address the budgetary needs as the primary concern is to ensure that the Electoral Rolls are prepared at the earliest and steps taken for polling to take place before the expiry of the term of the committee,” he said.

Monitoring closely the functioning of the body, legal expert Charanjit Singh Saluja said, “The 31 December meeting was only to elect the President. There was no other agenda. The President-elect Jagjot Singh maneuvered the election of the other office bearers, and because it was outside the scope of the meeting, their election must be scrapped.”

“I am clearly dedicated to the functioning of the Takht Committee in a transparent and democratic manner and shall do everything required to ensure this.”

WSN has reliably learned that Jagjivan Singh of Sri Guru Singh Sabha Chitkora and Kuldeep Singh Bagga of Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Fraser Road has also written to the Bihar State Election Authority seeking early preparation of electoral rolls for those members who are to contest the public polls wherein only Sikhs of Bihar vote.

Jagmohan Singh’s letter to the District Judge says that “it should not take more than 2-3 weeks to prepare electoral rolls as the total number of voters is likely to be less than 5000 in number.”

Former President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Paramjit Singh Sarna, speaking to WSN said, “Elections to the Takht Committee must be freshly ordered and a new committee replacing the present one must be formed sooner than later.”

Pulling the rug off the feet of the Takht Committee office bearers, The Sikh Collective letter says, “All office bearers are relevant so long as they enjoy the faith of the Sikh Sangat. Any individual or Committee that overshoots its term loses the trust of the community at large and the Sikh electorate which has elected, nominated, or co-opted them. They also do grave injustice to the sanctity of the august body whose primary task is to manage Sikh institutions. Any delay would be compromising the constitution of the Takht Committee and the directives of the Sikh community, communicated through the Akal Takht Sahib. It is also cheating of the Sikh Sangat with perhaps some hidden ulterior motives.”

Jagmohan Singh in his letter has told the District Judge that “The Sikhs in the Punjab and across the globe are keenly watching the developments at Takht Patna Saheb.”