Amid missing ‘saroops’ controversy, Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi resigns as CONWARE chairman
Days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann claimed that 169 saroops had been found at the Rasokhana Nabh Kanwal Raja Sahib Gurdwara in Banga during an ongoing investigation into the 328 missing saroops, Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi has resigned as chairman of the Punjab State Container and Warehousing Corporation, or CONWARE, to which he was appointed with a cabinet rank.
Dr Sukhi announced his resignation on Facebook on Sunday and said he would try to convince Mann and the ruling AAP’s leadership about the “sanctity” of the gurdwara.
“I come here every day. I have come here today. I want to announce here that this place is not about politics for me. I announce my resignation as the CONWARE chairman and from the Cabinet rank. I pray to God to give me the strength to tell the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the top leadership of the AAP about the truth of this place,” he said in a video message.
During a Maghi conference on Wednesday, Mann stated that the SIT had found 169 saroops (Guru Granth Sahib) in the gurdwara and that 79 of the saroops were published prior to 2012. “Hence, the saroops do not fall in the category of 328 missing saroops, which date from 2014 to 2019. As many as 107 of the saroops were published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and the remaining 62 saroops were printed by private printers.”
Of the 169 sarrops, 115 were numbered, and the remaining 54 had no serial numbers. Records exist for 30 saroops—20 were given to one Pind gurdwara and 10 to another in Banga, AAP state media in-charge Baltej Pannu had stated.
The gurdwara management had, however, denied the claims, stating, “Only 30 saroops available with us were printed between 2014 and 2015, which were installed in 2019. We had deposited 30 worn-out (birad) saroops at Goindwal Sahib, in lieu of which we were allotted 20 new saroops. Ten saroops were taken by the sangat of Dosanjh Khurd village from the SGPC. Later, they handed over these saroops to us as they were unable to maintain them. Hence, not a single missing saroop is with us.”
Dr Sukhi, who is the MLA for Banga, was elected on a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket in the 2022 Assembly elections but joined the AAP in August 2024. His resignation from the Vidhan Sabha has not been accepted by the Speaker yet.
Dr Sukhi had taken a divergent stand from the chief minister. “There has been no violation of maryada at the site. I am here to clear doubts of everyone that this place cannot be involved in wrongdoing and should not be dragged in any controversy,” he said on Facebook then.
Sources said Dr Sukhi met Mann at the latter’s residence on Friday and spoke to him about the issue, adding that there was no resolution in sight.
Kanchan Vasdev is a Senior Assistant Editor in The Indian Express’... Read More
