Chandigarh: Rebel leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Monday appeared before the jathedar of Akal Takht and apologised for the “mistakes” committed when their party was in power in the state.
The apology letter was handed over to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
In the letter, the leaders sought forgiveness for the “four mistakes” during the erstwhile SAD regime between 2007 and 2017, including failure to punish those responsible for the 2015 sacrilege incidents and pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2007 blasphemy case.
The rebel leaders said that the Sikh Panth and the people of Punjab had turned away from the Akali Dal due to these “mistakes”, while asserting that they were ready to face any punishment in accordance with Sikh principles.
Due to this, the SAD faced “failures” not only on the religious front but also suffered from popular apathy in the political field, the leaders said.
A section of senior party leaders have revolted against SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, demanding that he resign as party chief following its debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Prominent rebel leaders include former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, former legislator Gurpartap Singh Wadala, former minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and party leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur, all of whom appeared before the jathedar of Akal Takht.
Referring to the incidents of sacrilege, the leaders said the then Akali government could not ensure punishment of the culprits and stressed that the Sikh panth was outraged by the 2015 incidents.
The Shiromani Akali Dal government, the then Home Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and the SAD president failed to investigate the matter in time and ensure that the culprits were punished, the letter said.
This led to the situation in Punjab worsening and tragic incidents in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, he said.
“The Shiromani Akali Dal government has failed to hold any official accountable for these incidents,” he said.
Incidents involving the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up of sacrilegious hand-written posters and torn pages of the holy book being found scattered in Bargari took place in Faridkot in 2015.
These incidents sparked protests in Faridkot. In October 2015, two people were killed in a police shootout in Behbal Kalan and others were injured in Kotkapura, Faridkot.
The letter also mentions the blasphemy case registered in 2007 against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief for allegedly imitating the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh in Salabatpura.
“Instead of taking further steps to punish the person, the Shiromani Akali Dal government withdrew this case,” the letter said.
In 2021, Badal claimed that the SAD government had never withdrawn the blasphemy case against the Dera chief, who is currently lodged in a Haryana jail. Ram Rahim, in 2017, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping two disciples.
The letter also claimed that Sukhbir Badal allegedly used his influence to pardon the Dera Sacha Sauda chief in the blasphemy case.
“…Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of Shiromani Akali Dal, used his influence to pardon the ‘deredar’ (Dera chief). He may call the then jathedar of Sri Akal Takht and seek clarification,” the leaders said in the letter.
“But the leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiromani Committee had to retract this decision considering the anger and resentment of the Sikh Panth,” he said.
In 2015, the Akal Takht pardoned the head of Dera Sacha Sauda in the blasphemy case based on a written apology. However, bowing to pressure from the Sikh community and hardliners, it reversed its decision.
Published July 1, 2024, 11:22 AM IST
