GK, Sarna send DSGMC resignations to PM, allege interference by BJP govt

Amritsar: Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) members Manjit Singh GK and Paramjit Singh Sarna on Tuesday submitted their resignations directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, instead of DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka, alleging Delhi govt's interference in the affairs of the Sikh institution. Both GK and Sarna are former presidens of DSGMC.Alleging a "top-down political assault" on Sikh institutions by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, GK and Sarna said the govt was trying to derail the functioning of DSGMC, and suppress internal democracy. "This (resignation sent to the PM) was to ensure that the issue of the Delhi govt's interference in DSGMC's affairs remains on record and cannot later be denied or ignored by the Centre," he added.Sarna alleged that since 2021, BJP-run state govts had used state power to undermine, infiltrate, and silence Sikh institutions. "Today, this blueprint has reached Delhi's gurdwaras, from historic shrines to local Singh sabhas. There is no space left untouched by Gupta and her ministers," he added.In the resignation sent to the PM, both GK and Sarna wrote: "This is a complete reversal of the no-interference principle upheld under the then (1999-2004) Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the then chief minister Madan Lal Khurana when, despite ideological differences, Sikh institutions were treated with a basic degree of respect. That respect has now been shattered. This collective resignation is our final attempt to sound the alarm. It is a statement to the world that beneath the BJP's scripted optics and symbolic gestures lies a systematic dismantling of Sikh religious autonomy by state govts like the one run by Rekha Gupta."Reacting to their resignation submitted to PM Modi, Inder Mohan Singh, former DSGMC member and president of Dashmesh Sewa Society, said, "They have set a wrong precedent by sending their resignation to the Prime Minister instead of the DSGMC president. This move has further politicised the issue they themselves have been accusing the Delhi govt of."