Sukhbir Badal resigns as Akali Dal chief

Chandigarh, Nov 16 Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday resigned as President of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), party spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema said.

"The SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal submitted his resignation to the working Committee of the party today to pave the way for the election of new President. He thanked all the party leaders and workers for expressing confidence in his leadership and extending wholehearted support and cooperation throughout the tenure," he said on X.

Cheema said the Akali Dal Working Committee President Balwinder S Bhundar has called an emergency meeting of the party’s working committee on November 18 in Chandigarh. The committee will consider the resignation of Sukhbir Badal and will decide further course of action.

The elections for the post of President, office-bearers and Working Committee members are due on December 14 when the five-year term of the present office-bearers expires.

Within 24 hours of being declared a "sinner" for "damaging Sikh interests", both as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief and as the former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Badal appeared before the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, on August 31 and requested to call an early meeting of five Sikh head priests to give him an opportunity to rectify his mistakes.

Sukhbir Badal, along with four former Cabinet ministers, appeared before the Akal Takht as common men, and had said in a written clarification that they “are ready to accept all pronouncements”.

After a meeting of the five Sikh head priests, Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Raghbir Singh, had declared Sukhbir Badal ‘tankhiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) and asked him to appear before the Akal Takht Sahib within 15 days as a common Sikh.

The entire SAD Cabinet from 2007-2017, which was led by the late Parkash Singh Badal, was asked to appear before the Akal Takht to explain its actions which caused harm to the Sikh ‘Panth’. At that time, Sukhbir Badal was the Deputy Chief Minister and SAD President.

The Akal Takht asked the ministers during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government to provide an explanation for their role in the mistakes committed during two consecutive terms, from 2007-12, and 2012-2017.

Soon after the Akal Takht pronounced its verdict, SAD announced that it accepted the directives with all humility.

Also, Sukhbir Badal, who has been facing disenchantment within the party, appointed his long-time family loyalist and former Rajya Sabha member Bhunder as the party's Working President.

SAD rebels and several Sikh organisations have been asking Sukhbir Badal to step down from the post of President in view of the sacrilege incidents during the Akali Dal’s 10-year stint from 2007-17.

The incidents comprise hurting religious sentiments of the Sikh community by self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who allegedly performed an imitation of Guru Gobind Singh at the sect's dera in 2007, and sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015.

The rebels, including former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, ex-Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, and former minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, on July 1 conveyed to Giani Raghbir Singh that they “are ready to face any punishment that the Akal Takht may deem appropriate”.

Source: IANS