‘No greater joy': Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma welcomes suggestion for Balwant Singh Rajoana as jathedar
Amritsar: Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal, which was once led by extremist Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, on Tuesday said it will welcome former CM Beant Singh assassination convict Balwant Singh Rajoana's potential appointment as the jathedar of Akal Takht.
This endorsement lends significant credence to widespread rumours that a faction within the
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) is advocating for Rajoana, who is incarcerated at Patiala central jail, to assume the position of Akal Takht jathedar.
Asked about discussions regarding the Rajoana's appointment to the post, Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma said Rajoana had made a tremendous sacrifice for the 'panth' (Sikh community).
"He is a highly respected personality in the panth and there could be no greater joy in welcoming him as jathedar," he said.
Refraining from directly putting a demand for appointing Rajoana as the jathedar, Dhumma said there was still a need to establish rules and procedures for the appointment or retirement of jathedars.
He said such procedures could take time and cannot be created hastily or based solely on the opinion of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
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He said this required the consensus of Sikhs worldwide, Sikh scholars, saints, Damdami Taksal, Nihang Singh organisations, various sects (Sikh Sampradas), and more.
Last week, Damdami Taksal had managed to force the SGPC and Akal Takht to withdraw Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj from delivering a speech on the 41st anniversary of Operation Bluestar on June 6. The taksal had objected to what it described as Giani Gargaj's appointment to the post being "against maryada (Sikh tenets)".
Gianji Gargaj not delivering a speech meant that the Akal Takht secretariat and SGPC had altered an established tradition of the jathedar delivering a speech on the occasion.
On Monday, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhammi visited the headquarters of Damdami Taksal at Mehta Chowk, near Amritsar, and got it to postpone its decision of protesting outside SAD chief Sukhbir Badal's house in Badal village.
The influence of Rajoana within a faction of the SAD and his perceived closeness to the Badal family gained credence from a decision made by the SGPC in the recent past after it temporarily deferred to a portrait of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the Central Sikh Museum following a two-page letter from Rajoana, penned on May 14 from Central Jail, Patiala, to Dhami. MSID:: 121755028 413 |
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