SAD rebels apologise at Akal Takht for Akali rule ‘mistakes’

AMRITSAR: Rebel Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders on Monday appeared before the Akal Takht here, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, and apologised for the “mistakes” committed when the party was in power in Punjab. Acknowledging their involvement in the “religious transgressions” during the party’s 10-year rule from 2007 to 2017, the rebel SAD group appealed to Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh to pronounce penance upon them and departed after offering prayers for the ‘chardi kalan’ of SAD.
Party members Bibi Jagir Kaur, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Suchha Singh Chottepur and Bhai Manjit Singh submitted a letter to the Akal Takht jathedar, blaming SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for the mistakes that, according to them, eroded the trust of a substantial segment of the Sikh community and people of Punjab in the SAD leadership.
These “missteps” resulted in several failures of the SAD govt and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) following which the party encountered a palpable estrangement from the populace of Punjab, said the rebel SAD group while mentioning “four mistakes”.
Highlighting the first, they said that in 2007, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim conducted a baptism ceremony clad in an attire resembling that of Sikh’s 10 master Guru Gobind Singh following which a police case was filed against him.

‘Sukhbir failed to punish those responsible for Bargari sacrilege’
However, the govt later opted to withdraw the case rather than pursue it further. Following the incident, the Dera chief was excommunicated by the Akal Takht, and an edict was issued instructing the Sikh community to sever ties with him.
However, through their influence, the then jathedar of Akal Takht and Sukhbir Badal orchestrated the pardon of the dera chief, and to justify the decision, the SGPC spent Rs 90 lakh on advertisements, the rebel SAD group alleged. Faced with significant backlash from the Sikh community, both the SAD and SGPC ultimately rescinded their decision, they said.
The rebel SAD group said the second mistake was Sukhbir’s failure to punish perpetrators of Bargari sacrilege and police officials forKotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents. On June 1, 2015, 110 ‘ang’ (pages) of Guru Granth Sahib were reportedly stolen from the gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Faridkot, and later found discarded near Gurdwara Bargari in same district.
Then Punjab home minister Sukhbir Badal failed to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice, they said, adding this failure contributed to unrest in Punjab and culminated in the incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan.
The third mistake, according to them, was giving special treatment to Punjab police chiefs Sumedh Saini and Azhar Alam. They also claimed that due to several other incidents, the Sikh panth was disappointed with the SAD leadership, and position of the party in both political and religious spheres had gone down.
As a result, whenever the SAD or SGPC leadership took up issues such as Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) or issues faced by the global Sikh community with Punjab or the Central govts, they were ignored, said the rebel group.
“We acknowledge that throughout these events, we were integral members of SAD leadership and regretfully failed to prevent such incidents. We raised these concerns internally and advised party leadership to seek forgiveness at the Akal Takht in accordance with Gurmat maryada but they didn’t heed our advice,” reads the letter.
They expressed remorse for their actions, acknowledging the burden of their mistakes, for which they seek the forgiveness from the Akal Takht. They are prepared to accept any penance. They said with the blessings of Akal Takht they wish to revive the SAD.