The Maharashtra government on Friday appointed retired IAS officer Vijay Satbir Singh as the administrator of Nanded’s Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib. The move came after Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday objected to the appointment of a non-Sikh as the board administrator.
BJP leader and former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced Singh’s appointment. He also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP’s national president JP Nadda for intervening and sorting the issue out.
Retired IAS officer Vijay Satbir Singh | Twitter
“With their due support, the issue has been resolved. The Government of Maharashtra immediately ordered the appointment of Dr Vijay Satbir Singh Ji a retired Sikh IAS officer as administrator of Sri Hazur Sahib. Thanking @Dev_Fadnavis ji for swift action,” Sirsa said in a tweet.
Move comes after SGPC’s objection
The Maharashtra government appointed Nanded Collector Abhijit Rajendra Raut as the administrator of the board, drawing objection from the SGPC. On Monday, the committee passed a resolution against Raut’s appointment and demanded the government to withdraw its decision.
“Recently, the sentiments of Sikhs have been hurt by appointing a non-Sikh as an administrator of the Gurdwara Board of Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, Nanded. It can never be accepted that the administrator of a Board of the holy Takht Sahib is a non-Sikh. The government’s interference is being made to weaken the Sikh organisations through government institutions under its authority,” SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said while passing the resolution.
Dhami also wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stating that the Sikh community was not happy with the government’s decision to appoint Raut as the board’s administrator.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal called Raut’s appointment an attack on Sikh identity.
