SGPC polls on July 11

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">CHANDIGARH: The general elections to the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee(SGPC) are now to be held on July 11. According to the decision taken by the union government in consultation with the Chandigarh–based chief commissioner Gurdwara elections(CCGE). <br /><br />This has been stated in a communication from the union home ministry under secretary V K Gupta for submission to the Punjab and Haryana High Court where a public interest litigation(PIL) preferred by the former Punjab finance minister and Khalistan protagonist Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan is being heard by the division bench of the Chief Justice Binod Kumar Roy and Justice Surya Kant.However, it could not be taken up on Tuesday and stands adjourned to May 4.<br /><br />The union government has conveyed that it had earlier decided to conduct these elections on May 23 and had intimated the court accordingly in response to the writ petition. <br /><br />However, in the meantime, the decision to hold general elections to the Lok Sabha was taken. Since the voting for the parliamentary poll are to be held on May 10 in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Chandigarh, the matter pertaining to SGPC general elections was considered afresh with the representations of the concerned organisation as also the commissioners concerned with the conduct of Gurdwara elections in these states. <br /><br />In view of the fact that the same staff was to conduct the elections to parliament and the SGPC, it was felt that it would not be possible to put them on double duty, hence the decision to defer elections to SGPC. <br /><br />Also, as all the educational institutions are used as the polling stations for these elections, it was suggested to hold elections to SGPC after the termination of the summer vacation in June, the chief commissioner Gurdwara elections Justice (Retd) J S Sekhon had been suggested by the representatives of the state governments and organisation concerned with these elections. <br /><br />It was in this background that the CCGE suggested July 11 or 18 as the date for the holding of SGPC elections.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>