With the SAD expelling several of its senior leaders for ‘rebelling’ against the party leadership – whom they held it responsible for ‘anti-Panthic sentiments’ that resulted in party’s poll drubbing – the country’s oldest regional party is now headed for a bigger showdown, writes Rajesh Moudgil
The 103-year old Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is again facing a major crisis – after 1989-1990 strife which had led to a split within. A section of its senior leaders, including its patron, former MPs, ex-ministers, former MLAs and office-holders have approached Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh temporal seat, gunning for party president Sukhbir Badal.
Before Akal Takht on July 1 last, they apologised for being part of SAD government from 2007 to 2017 when, they held, the top leadership committed “mistakes’’ and failed to represent Panthic sentiments that also led to SAD’s drubbing in the election.
The SAD along with its ally BJP, ruled the state between 2007 and 2017, but “due to the said reasons’’, its number fell to 15 MLAs out of total 117 in 2017 and just three in 2022 in assembly polls. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it could win just one out of 13 seats and 10 of its candidates failed to even save their deposits.
The SAD’s rebel leaders included former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former SGPC chief Jagir Kaur and former ministers – Surjit Singh Rakhra, Parminder Singh Dhindsa and other leaders including Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Karnail Singh Panjauli and Manjit Singh.
They held that the “mistakes” included revocation of the case registered against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for blasphemous act of imitating Guru Gobind Singh in 2007, failing to punish perpetrators of Bargari sacrilege and police officers for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents, allowing appointments of controversial IPS officer Sumedh Saini as DGP besides giving Farzana Alam, the wife of controversial police officer Izhar Alam, the party ticket in 2012 assembly polls and appointing her chief parliamentary secretary and failing to deliver justice to the victims of the fake encounter cases.
Subsequent to this, the five high priests – called “Panj Singh Sahiban’’ – summoned Sukhbir Badal and said in its resolution that according to the complaint received by the Akal Takht from some senior SAD leaders, the SAD president did not represent Panthic sentiments and has thus been asked to appear before the Akal Takht within 15 days with written clarification on the allegations. Sukhbir Badal, held the post of deputy chief minister when the party was in power in Punjab.
