Report on dera role in a week: SGPC chief

Amritsar : The SGPC today formed a three-member committee to probe if Sikh leaders had visited the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda to seek support for those in fray for the Punjab elections, despite a 2007 Akal Takht “hukamnama (edict)” to the Sikhs not to have ties with the controversial dera.
The committee comprises SGPC senior vice-president Baldev Singh Kaimpur, general secretary Amarjit Singh Chawla and executive committee member Gurcharan Singh Garewal. The SGPC president, Kirpal Singh Badungar, said the committee was already on the job and would submit a report to Akal Takht within a week after which appropriate action could be initiated by the chiefs of all five Sikh Takhts.
Sikh leaders, mostly those with the Akali Dal (SAD), had reportedly met members of the dera’s political wing prior to the Punjab Assembly elections and assured them of help in holding a congregation in Punjab, if voted to power again. Enraged, various organisations, including the SAD (Delhi) and the DSGMC, had submitted a complaint to Akal Takht, demanding action against the leaders for violating the “hukamnama.”