Akali Dal rebel leaders apologise for mistakes committed during SAD regime

The rebel group Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which has been seeking the removal of its president Sukhbir Singh Badal from the top post, on Monday went to the Akal Takht (the highest Sikh temporary seat) and tendered an apology for all the “mistakes” of the party that have hurt the Sikh community (Panth).

Party leader and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, among other leaders, who raised the flag of revolt against Badal, appeared before Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. They submitted a letter of apology and sought forgiveness for the four mistakes committed during the previous SAD regime between 2007 and 2017.

Key lapses, the letter said, included the pardon granted to Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a 2007 blasphemy case, the failure of the then SAD-led government to punish those involved in the sacrilege of ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ in Bargari village in 2015, and the appointment of Sumedh Saini as the state’s Director General of Police.

Mr. Chandumajra said that these lapses have cost the party dearly, both on the electoral and religious fronts, and that though several leaders have been raising the issue of “leadership change” within the party platform, nothing concrete has been done to revive the party in all these years.

As the poor run of the SAD, which has been going through a difficult phase, continued in the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the challenge faced by the Punjab-based party president Mr Badal to keep the party intact has only grown as several senior leaders have raised the flag of revolt against him, seeking his ouster from the top post of the party.

Meanwhile, the women’s wing of the SAD, Istri Akali Dal, on Monday expressed full confidence in the leadership of SAD president Mr Badal. In a statement, the wing of the party said he was the best person to lead the party at this juncture.

“The entire rank and file of the Istri Akali Dal said that party president Sukhbir Badal had provided inspiring leadership to lead an effective campaign in the form of the Punjab Bachao Yatra,” he added.

Last week, the SAD working committee placed its full confidence in the “determined and committed leadership of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.” In a resolution, the committee members condemned attempts to tarnish the president’s image.