Badal loyalist is new SGPC chief

Harjinder Singh Dhami, 65, a low-profile Akali leader from Hoshiarpur district, was elected president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), replacing Jagir Kaur at the helm. Dhami is the SGPC member from Sham Churasi segment and hails from Piplan Wala village in Hoshiarpur district. His predecessor belongs to Begowal town in Kapurthala district of Doaba region. Dhami is a lawyer with a clean image as a religious and political leader. He has served the SGPC for the past 25 years. He is the Badal family’s legal counsel in a case of alleged forgery of the constitution of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Former chief minister and Akali patriarch Prakash Singh Badal was recently summoned by the court in this case.