Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday said he felt “proud to be a soldier of Sukhbir Badal-led Akali Dal”. The statement comes a day after CM Bhagwant Mann targeted Dhami, saying he considered himself a “soldier of Sukhbir Badal instead of Guru Gobind Singh”. The criticism followed repeated confrontations between the government and the apex gurdwara panel in recent months. Mann had said that instead of performing his primary duty as chief of the SGPC, Dhami was more focused on arranging and addressing political interests of the SAD. The apex gurdwara panel is controlled by the SAD. Reacting to the CM’s allegations, Dhami cited the example of longest-serving SGPC president Panth Rattan Gurcharan Singh Tohra and five-time CM Parkash Singh Badal. “Both worked in coordination with each other. So, how could the presidents of the SGPC and the SAD be separated today?” he said. “I am proud to be an Akali and simultaneously I will not step back from safeguarding traditions and powers of the institution as its chief servant,” he said. Gurdwara panel spokesperson Gurpreet Singh Jhabbar condemned the CM’s volte-face, which he said was in total contrast to his “humble” appearance before Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj on January 15. “He tried to tarnish the image of a five-time SGPC chief, who as an advocate, fought legal battles on behalf of innocent Sikh youths during disturbed times of 1980s for free. During his stint as the SGPC chief, he never took a single penny as monetary benefit,” he said