SAD expels Bibi Jagir Kaur from primary membership of the party
(Disciplinary Comm also releases sting to prove involvement of Iqbal Singh Lalpura in approaching SGPC members)
Chandigarh, November 7 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today expelled Bibi Jagir Kaur from the primary membership of the party for indulging in anti-party activities, including becoming party to a conspiracy to break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Announcing this, SAD disciplinary committee Chairman Sikander Singh Maluka said disciplinary action had been taken against Bibi Jagir Kaur after exhausting all options, including giving the leader an opportunity to present her point of view through a personal hearing today. “The SAD has always sought to present panthic unity by putting forward a single candidate for the post of President of the SGPC after the party president takes the views of all members individually. We fail to understand why Bibi Jagir Kaur wanted to change this norm and create confusion in the Sikh community as it only helps forces inimical to the panth”.
Detailing the case, Mr Maluka said Bibi Jagir Kaur had started preparing to contest the SGPC elections three months back by approaching members. He said with the aim of maintaining unity in the party, senior SAD leaders Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Surjit Singh Rakhra had approached her and urged her to abide by party discipline. “Even SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal apprised her about the view point of SGPC members and counseled her not to insist on contesting the polls”.
Asserting that Bibi Jagir Kaur remained insistent, Mr Maluka said the former started calling up and meeting members to solicit their support. “Things got out of hand when there were complaints from SGPC members that senior BJP leader and Minority Commission Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura was ringing up members to solicit support for Bibi Jagir Kaur”.
Mr Maluka said taking into consideration the complaint of the members as well as the report submitted by the two member SAD team which met her, Bibi Jagir Kaur was suspended from the party. “Following this two repeated extensions were given to her to explain her view point and today she was given time to explain her case in person”. However instead of doing this, she is questioning the very formation of the disciplinary committee which has been formed by the SAD President after the party Working Committee, of which she is a member, gave Mr Sukhbir Badal the requisite rights”.
Meanwhile disciplinary committee member Virsa Singh Valtoha released a sting done on Amritsar based BJP leader Prof Sarchand Singh in which the latter is heard telling SGPC member Surjit Singh Bhittewad that he will arrange the latter’s meeting with the National Minority Commission Chairman. He said that in the sting Prof Sarchand also offered to bribe SGPC members to secure their votes.
Mr Valtoha asserted the sting had proved that the BJP and Iqbal Singh Lalpura were not only interfering in the elections to the President of the SGPC but were also approaching the members to secure votes for Bibi Jagir Kaur. He demanded that the phone call records of both Prof Sarchand and Lalpura should be probed to ascertain the extent of the conspiracy to break the SGPC.
Other disciplinary committee members who attended the press conference included Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi.
