More than three months after he was declared ‘tankhaiya’ or guilty of violating the Sikh religious code of conduct, former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal completed his ‘atonement’ and paid obeisance at the Sri Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar on Friday.
Badal and other Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders had been ordered to perform guard duty, clean toilets, serve in the community kitchen, perform Nitnem or daily Sikh prayers, and recite the Sukhmani Sahib as part of their punishment for the “mistakes” made by their government from 2007 to 2017.
After being declared guilty, Badal had stayed away from the public eye and resigned as SAD president. The SAD had also refrained from contesting the Assembly bypolls in Punjab last month. All eyes are now on whether the SAD working committee, which is known to be loyal to him, will accept his resignation.
On Friday, other SAD leaders also reached the Sri Akal Takht Sahib after completing their 10-day religious sentence. “We have completed our service in compliance with the directives given by Sri Akal Takht Sahib. I express my gratitude to all the leadership for contributing enthusiastically to the service,” SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said.
Badal did not make any statement.
Earlier, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami, who was in charge of the committee formed for the reorganisation of the SAD, had himself raised questions over the instructions from the Sri Akal Takht Sahib. “There are some technical issues…I have discussed it with other members also. There is a system. There are Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines for a recognised party. We have already brought it to the knowledge of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar that they should also examine the legal aspects,” Dhami had said.
Why should you buy our Subscription?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be misled and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package
