Badal’s woes: Crucial meeting of Akal Takht, Sikh scholars today

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) The political future of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, will be discussed on Wednesday during a meeting called by the Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh seat of authority.

This is not a meeting of Sikh High Priests but the Akal Takht has called a meeting of Sikh Panthic scholars and intellectuals on Wednesday.

Sukhbir Badal's Tankhaiya (guilty of violating the Sikh religious code) case and religious punishment will be discussed in this meeting to be held at the Sri Akal Takht Secretariat.

As many as 18 Sikh scholars and intellectuals will participate in the meeting called by Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh.

Sukhbir Singh Badal’s stature as President of Punjab’s Sikh panthic party, the SAD, took a huge hit after the Akal Takht, declared him Tankhaiya.

The declaration that was announced on August 30 this year was a result of the decisions he took as Deputy Chief Minister and SAD chief from 2007 to 2017 that according to the Akal Takht “deeply harmed the image of the ‘panth’ and caused damage to Sikh interests apart from the SAD’s own downfall.”

While the Akal Takht did not reveal the details of Badal’s controversial decisions, a letter written by SAD rebels accused Badal of trying to get the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim pardoned by the Akal Takht in an old case involving his alleged blasphemous bid to imitate the tenth Sikh Guru.

In that letter, Badal’s detractors also blamed him for lack of proper action as the leader of the panthic party in handling incidents related to the sacrilege of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 by some miscreants despite holding the home department portfolio at that time.

To make matters worse, two Sikh protesters were killed in police firing, leading to major resentment within the community in Punjab and elsewhere.

Now all eyes are on the meeting today as the discussions of the religious experts and Sikh intellectuals are expected to have a bearing on the quantum of punishment that will be announced by the Akal Takht going forward.

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