Stockton: California: At a Sea convened emergent meeting of the WSOUSA National Council here on Saturday, December 14, 1985, S. Ganga Singh Dhillon was removed from the President ship of the Council. The meeting was held in the library of Gurdwara Stockton and it was attended by 17 of the 31 members. In the absence of S. Ganga Singh the meeting was presided by S. Lakhbir Singh Chima, Senior Vice-president, who was later appointed Acting President till the election of the regular President. According to the proceedings of the meeting, S. Ganga Singh waws consulted and the place, date and time of the meeting were fixed as per his convince. But he reportedly neither attended the meeting nor sent any written or oral communication to the Senior Vice President. The resolution for his removal was moved by S. Baldev Singh (New York) and Dr. Naunihal Singh (New York) seconded the motion. It was carried with 15 members in favor and two members against.

After the report of the committee appointed by the Senior Vice-president to investigate into the incident of assault on the WSO Secretary General, Maj. Gen. J.S. Bhullar, was read out by S. Lakhmir Singh Grewal (committee spokesman), members generally disapproved and condemned the action of the four youths who had assaulted Gen. Bhullar. They also criticized Ganga Singh for inviting these youths to Washington. The members also took exception to the questionable role of Ganga Singh in trying to bring Tarlochan Singh Riyasti a senior Congress (I) leader of Punjab, to the WSO General Assembly meeting. The fact of Mr. Riyasti’s stay with Ganga Singh, they felt, “created doubts about his loyalty to the WSO.”

Dr. Naunihal Singh pointed out that Ganga Singh had “lost his credibility with the Sikhs in general and the National Council in particular” because of “conflict of interest”. The collection of large amounts for his Nankana Sahib Foundation by using his position as WSO President and giving no account of the collections as well as his association with Akali Foundation collectively served to shatter his credibility. Documentary evidence was reportedly presented by Dr. Naunihal Singh to prove his contention.

 

It was also pointed out by Dr. Gurcharan Singh Dhillon that Ganga Singh had worked against the interests of WSO prior to his nomination as President. According to him, Ganga Singh was instrumental in spreading false rumours about WSO leaders which resulted in some persons getting their membership checks cancelled. He cited specific instances to prove his point. It was also alleged that Ganga Singh had violated the constitution by directly collecting membership dues and by unilaterally increasing the membership fee from $10.00 to $120.00 per annum. After discussions the resolution for his removal was introduced by S. Baldev Singh which reads as follows:

“Based on the evidence presented by the investigating committee and other members of the National Council, S. Ganga Singh Dhillon has lost his credibility with the National Council due to his anti Panthic activities, It is therefore.

Resolved that S. Ganga Singh Dhillon is hereby removed from the President ship of WSO—USA with immediate effect. Therefore, he should be immediately removed from the Presidency of WSOUSA.” The National Council acknowledged the valuable contributions made by the organized youth bodies but pointed out that the While authorizing S. Lakhbir Singh Chima to perform the duty of Acting President, the National Council asked him to convey to all the members the council decision with a request that no dues be sent to S. Ganga Singh.

Through another resolution introduced by Dr. Gurcharan Singh Dhillon and seconded by S. Dilbagh Singh Bains, the National Council urged Stockton Gurdwara Committee to press legal chatges against Nirmal Singh, Kuljit Singh (Kuku), Gurtej Singh and Vijay Singh who were directly

involved in the assault on the Secretary General. The Council also assured the Gurdwara Committee of its full cooperation and support to the committee in this regard. The council also thanked the Gurdwara Committee for their cooperation and hospitality.

The Council authorized S. Lakhbir Singh Chima to maintain WSOUSA account at Los Angeles until the next council meeting.

The council again reiterated WSO official policy and reminded its members to respect the laws of the land and work within the framework of the constitution of their respective countries.

  1. Didar Singh Bains reported about his meeting with Vice-president George Bush in his capacity as President WSO (International) and said that efforts were being made to set up a WSO delegation meeting with former U.S. President Gerald Ford.

Dr. Gurinder Singh Grewal and other members of the Governing Council (WSO International) briefed the council about the various actions and decisions taken at the General Assembly meeting in Washington.

The National Council planned its calendar for 1986. Accordingly its first quarterly meeting will be held at New York on March 1516 1986. New York Sikh Cultural Society will play the host.

The second quarterly meeting will be held on June 1415, 1986 in Chicago Area. Dr. Karamjit Singh Rai will coordinate this with President WSO—USA.

The third quarterly meeting will be held on September 1314, 1986 at Los Angeles California.

The annual meeting will be held on December 1314, 1986 at New York. The Sikh Cultural Society, New York will again play the host.

Other events sponsored by the WSO will broadly cover:

(a) All Gurpurtbs.

(b) Golden Temple Martyrdom day of June 1984 on 6, 7 & 8th June, 1986.

 

(c) WSO formation celebrations at New York and Sacramento on July 2527, 1986.

(d) Guru Granth Sahib ‘Gurgaddi Diwas’ at Yuba City on November 2, 1986.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 20, 1985