The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, December 12
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema today condemned the alleged conspiracy to prevent the SAD from contesting gurdwara committee elections in Haryana and announced the party would take recourse to legal action to contest this injustice.
In a statement here, the SAD leader said a new notification had been issued by the Haryana government to prevent all parties who were registered with the Election Commission under Article 29 – A of the Representation of Peoples Act from contesting the gurdwara elections.
He said the notification stated that such a party could not form a group to contest the elections or apply for a symbol for the same.
Terming the notification as illegal and unconstitutional, Dr Daljit Cheema said “earlier also the Delhi government had sought to keep the SAD out of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections by issuing a similar notification but the party had approached the high court. The court had ruled that this was a secular right and could not be infringed upon”.
Dr Cheema while appealing to the Haryana Gurdwara Commission to withdraw the notification said “If this is not done we will approach the courts as this is an attack on our democratic rights”.
He also detailed how the Haryana government had earlier come out with an Act to break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and hand over control of gurdwaras in Haryana to a Committee propped up by it.
He said the Act was promulgated even though the Gurdwara Act of 1925 was still in force.
“Despite taking such draconian and illegal measures, the Haryana government is still afraid of the SAD and is bent upon keeping it out of the poll fray in the gurdwara elections”, he added.
