The meeting attended by Prof Babu Singh Guram, general secretary, district SAD, Bibi Kamlesh Kaur, member SGPC and Umervir Singh Pamma and Darshan Singh Kashmiri, senior vice-presidents of district SAD, also thanked party president Parkash Singh Badal for taking a bold decision on the issue. The leaders felt that the decision would prove to be a milestone for Shiromani Akali Dal.

Meanwhile, in a press statement, United Teachers Front (UTF) of Punjabi University here also hailed the appointment of Bibi Jagir Kaur as president of the SGPC. The Front in a meeting, attended among others by Progressive Teachers Front, Sikh Intellectual Forum, Liberal Teachers Council and National Teachers Centre, also appealed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to expel G.S.Tohra from the SAD immediately as, it felt, Tohra had tried to weaken the party.

The convener of Women Teachers Forum, Punjabi University, Dr Sunita Dhir while welcoming the appointment of Bibi Jagir Kaur said that this decision had helped to boost the morale of the women community.

Whereas on the other hand, the district president of Shiromani Akali Dal (rural), Rajinder Singh Tohra, Surjit Singh Kohli, Gurdev Singh Sidhu and Jagtar Singh Rajla (all MLAs) hailed the decision of Gurcharan Singh Tohra to resign from the post of president of the SGPC. They said Parkash Singh Badal would have to pay a price for his recent moves.

Fatehgarh Sahib: The election of Bibi Jagir Kaur as president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee was not only an honour to her but to the entire womenhood, said Punjab Information and Public Relations Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan here today.

The appointment of a woman to the highest office in the Sikh hierarchy by following the basic principles of Sikhism is a tribute to the International Women Year, said Sekhwan.

This has amply proved that men and women have equal rights in the Shiromani Akali Dal, he added, while talking to media persons.