In Punjab, SAD seeks extension of voters’ list publication for gurdwara polls

Chandigarh: A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday requested gurdwara elections chief commissioner Justice S S Saron (retd) to extend the process for registration of voters and publication of voter lists for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections to March 31 besides "weeding out all bogus votes".
The delegation led by party's working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar, former president Sukhbir Singh Badal, and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami carried a copy of the SGPC-issued Sikh "rehat maryada" (code of conduct) for the meeting.
Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said they apprised the chief commissioner about the "rehat maryada" under which it was "compulsory to suffix Singh or Kaur with Sikh names."
"We submitted voter lists to the commission in which names of voters are in contravention to the rehat maryada," said Cheema, alleging that it was a "big conspiracy to snatch the Sikh institution through govt interference".
"While presenting the memorandum to the chief commissioner, Sukhbir informed Justice Saron (retd) that the AAP govt directed booth-level officers to register votes en masse from voter lists, due to which thousands of non-Sikhs were given the voting right for the SGPC elections," a press release issued by SAD stated. "Genuine votes were being deleted even as bogus votes were being added as part of the conspiracy to take over control of the SGPC by hook or by crook," Sukhbir said.
The memorandum read, "From information being received from different places, votes of non-Sikhs have been included on a large scale; at some places, house numbers are missing, and double votes have been registered on a large scale. Names given by SGPC members, Sikh institutions, gurdwara committees, or Akali workers along with documents are missing as voters; at no place have photos of voters been put in the voter lists. At some places, not even one vote has been registered, while at many places, more votes than the Sikh population in the village have been registered."
The delegation submitted documents to support assertions made in the memorandum.
The memorandum further stated, "From the shortcomings/irregularities, it is apparent that local administration registered illegal votes on a large scale under pressure from govt representatives, and under the govt influence, genuine votes have been removed."
Chandigarh: A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday requested gurdwara elections chief commissioner Justice S S Saron (retd) to extend the process for registration of voters and publication of voter lists for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections to March 31 besides "weeding out all bogus votes".
The delegation led by party's working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar, former president Sukhbir Singh Badal, and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami carried a copy of the SGPC-issued Sikh "rehat maryada" (code of conduct) for the meeting.
Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said they apprised the chief commissioner about the "rehat maryada" under which it was "compulsory to suffix Singh or Kaur with Sikh names."
"We submitted voter lists to the commission in which names of voters are in contravention to the rehat maryada," said Cheema, alleging that it was a "big conspiracy to snatch the Sikh institution through govt interference".
"While presenting the memorandum to the chief commissioner, Sukhbir informed Justice Saron (retd) that the AAP govt directed booth-level officers to register votes en masse from voter lists, due to which thousands of non-Sikhs were given the voting right for the SGPC elections," a press release issued by SAD stated. "Genuine votes were being deleted even as bogus votes were being added as part of the conspiracy to take over control of the SGPC by hook or by crook," Sukhbir said.
The memorandum read, "From information being received from different places, votes of non-Sikhs have been included on a large scale; at some places, house numbers are missing, and double votes have been registered on a large scale. Names given by SGPC members, Sikh institutions, gurdwara committees, or Akali workers along with documents are missing as voters; at no place have photos of voters been put in the voter lists. At some places, not even one vote has been registered, while at many places, more votes than the Sikh population in the village have been registered."
The delegation submitted documents to support assertions made in the memorandum.
The memorandum further stated, "From the shortcomings/irregularities, it is apparent that local administration registered illegal votes on a large scale under pressure from govt representatives, and under the govt influence, genuine votes have been removed."