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Contest throws up many issues
$14.78 lakh debt on Gurughar is a hot issue and incumbents have no
answers
WSN
Bureau
 FREMONT:
The unnecessary burdening of Gurdwara Sahib Fremont with loans
of lakhs of dollars has emerged as a key issue in the upcoming
March 9 elections. The purchase of an impossible piece of land bang
opposite the gurdwara, which mostly comprises hills and where
virtually nothing can be constructed, has become a headache not only
for the incumbent faction of Bhai Ram Singh but also his one-time
associate and the then president Bhai Gurmeet Singh besides the duo
of Bhai Surinder Singh and
Gurcharan Singh Mann.
The latter two have been backed by California
Sikh Organization. The outgoing committee led by Jaswinder Singh
Jandi had left behind in January 2003 an amount of $8.58 lakh (as
per the statement given by the Receiver to the Court). Now without
completing a single major project, this figure has been reduced to
$1,09,759 while the burden of loan on the Gurughar has zoomed to
$14,78,099 (as per the accounts statement of December 31, 2007).
There is widespread resentment among the sangat particularly
because a deeper analysis of the accounts shows that the Gurughar
has been rendered a debt of $7.48 lakh.
Similarly, the
incumbent management, instead of creating an atmosphere of harmony,
remained busy in little squabbles, failed to accord respect to granthis and kirtani jathas and became guilty of chucking out head
granthi and pathi Singhs in the middle of the night. Now it has to
contend with these issues during the elections and the incumbents
are finding it difficult to explain the charges leveled by the two
factions who were earlier part of the ruling clique.
Bhai Ram Singh
and his supporters in other slates had no answers to the issues of
failure to help head granthi Bhai Dilbagh Singh in the immigration
case and instead asking the lawyers not to accept his brief, and
their action of pressurising Bibi Cheema to file a false case
against Amritsar Times after she gave a statement criticizing the
management. Neither do they have any explanation for their action of
taking up the construction in the hilly area against the law and
then attracting massive penalties. The interesting part was that the
atmosphere being slightly more cordial, all the factions criticized
each other in measured tones and though everyone took the allotted
four minutes to seek votes, the main issues were brought into sharp
relief by Jaswinder Singh Jandi, Dr Tarlochan Singh Nahal, Sarabjit
Kaur Cheema, Bhai Ram Singh, Bhai Satnam Singh Khalsa, Bibi Gurbaksh
Kaur Kahlon and Bhai Gurmeet Singh.
 Of the 22
candidates fighting for the five slots, 21 candidates claimed to
have worked as per the wishes of the Sangat with an aim to improve
the management style and create an atmosphere of harmony. Every
candidate presented his and his slate’s views and sought votes. The
main slates which presented their views were the ones led by Bhai
Ram Singh, the common slate of former President Jaswinder Singh
Jandi and United Sikh Alliance, the Panthic slate of California
Organization which came into being after disaffiliating itself from
Bhai Ram Singh and Gurmeet Singh’s factions, as also the Khalsa
slate of former President Bhai Gurmeet Singh Khalsa. Of the 20
candidates of four slates, 18 presented their own views.
Because of Bhai
Surinder Singh’s prior commitments, his daughter Simran Kaur read
out his message while Gurmeet Singh Khalsa’s slate’s representative
Bhai Prithpal Singh Honey did not come up to the stage despite being
present in the precincts of the gurdwara before the discussions.
Jaswinder Singh
Jandi said the burden of loan on the gurdwara will be impossible to
be paid off even in 20 years. He said there was no hope of securing
permission for construction even in the next 20 years. He said the
propaganda against him was because of vested interests.
Bhai Tarlochan
Singh Nahal sought votes on the basis of his research work and
efforts to educate the people American media about Sikhs. He also
sought credit for being a witness in the case to force the gurdwara
elections.
Nirmal Singh
Khalsa pooh-poohed the allegations of misappropriation in langar,
leveled by Bhai Ram Singh’s faction. Bibi Sarabjit Kaur Cheema
slammed the incumbents for stoking the fires of factionalism and
said the details of the debt have not been presented to the sangat.
She said when she criticized the action of turning out the jatha of
Bhai Dilbagh Singh in the middle of the night, she was pressurized a
false case against Amritsar Times that had published her statement.
 Bhai Satnam
Singh Khalsa whose turn came after Jugraj Singh Dhaliwal, a veteran
of fighting elections unsuccessfully, took a sarcastic dig at him
saying it was difficult to indulge in a serious saner debate after a
lecture full of melodramatics (majma). Bhai Satnam Singh Khalsa who
has been associated with the gurdwara management for years now
stressed that the most important need of the hour was the unity. He
said the quom is passing through a deep crisis and we must rise
above petty differences and work collectively. He proposed to rustle
up an all-representative committee after victory and said all tasks
shall be undertaken only and only with the consent and participation
of the sangat.
Among the others
who spoke on the occasion were Bhai Devinder Singh Channa, Bhai
Gurmeet Singh, Bhai Ratan Singh, Bhai Pardeep Singh, Bhai Harpreet
Singh Bains, Bhai Tara Singh Gill, Bhai Jasdev Singh, Bhai Mahinder
Singh Johal, Bhai Gurcharan Singh Mann and Bhai Aala Singh Bhogal.
Bhai Devinder Singh was the stage secretary.
27
February 2008
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