Amritsar: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) general house on Saturday resolved to convene a congregation on July 5 to rally support for the Akal Takht’s directive calling upon Sikhs to boycott Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.The resolution, passed at a special session of the SGPC general house at Teja Singh Samundari Hall here, also endorsed the Akal Takht’s decision declaring Mann a “Guru Dokhi” (adversary of the Guru) and a “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” (anti-Khalsa Panth). The SGPC house also decided to launch an outreach campaign across Punjab and deploy preaching groups in every constituency to educate the Sikh sangat about the directive.The SGPC, the statutory body that manages major historic Sikh gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, said the congregation would represent the wider Sikh community and would be held at Gurdwara Sri Manji Sahib Diwan Hall here. The Akal Takht is Sikhism’s highest temporal seat.Addressing the SGPC general house, acting Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj said challenging the Akal Takht reflected the CM’s attitude towards Sikh institutions. Gargajj also referred to the Maharashtra govt’s proposed amendments to the law governing Takht Hazur Sahib and called upon Sikhs to remain united and resist such moves.SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami alleged that the Punjab govt was targeting Panthic (Sikh) institutions and said it was the SGPC’s responsibility to make the Sikh community aware of the Akal Takht’s directive. He said invitations to the July 5 congregation would be extended to all Sikh sects and organisations.The meeting was attended by the head granthi of Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib, jathedars of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Takht Damdama Sahib and Takht Patna Sahib, representatives of Takht Hazur Sahib, senior granthis of Harmandir Sahib, and SGPC office-bearers and members. Former SGPC president Jagir Kaur and several senior members also pledged to implement and defend the Akal Takht’s directive.The Akal Takht issued the directive on June 16 after holding Mann guilty of violating Sikh religious norms over a controversial video allegedly featuring him. Mann has rejected the directive, alleging that it was being used to shield those responsible for circulating the purportedly AI-generated and doctored video, while the Aam Aadmi Party has accused the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal of orchestrating a smear campaign against the chief minister.
