Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will legally fight what allegedly is a conspiracy to prevent the party from contesting Haryana gurdwara polls.
The trigger for the party crying foul is a notification issued by the Haryana government to allegedly prevent all parties registered with the Election Commission under Article 29 – A of The Representation of Peoples Act from contesting the gurdwara polls in the state.
The notification stated that such a party could not form a group to contest the polls or apply for a symbol for the same, said senior party leader Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema alleging that it was a conspiracy to keep SAD from the poll fray.
Terming the notification as illegal and unconstitutional, Dr. Cheema announced their party would take recourse to legal action to contest this injustice if Haryana Gurdwara Commission failed to act on their appeal to withdraw the notification.
“Earlier also the Delhi government had sought to keep the SAD out of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections by issuing a similar notification but the party had approached the High Court which ruled that this was a secular right and could not be infringed upon,” he said.
A former Punjab education minister, Dr. Cheema also targeted the Haryana government for previously coming out with an Act to break the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and hand over control of gurdwaras in Haryana to a committee propped up by it.
