Akal Takht makes SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s apology letter public
From favouring Gurmeet Ram Rahim to appointing Saini as Punjab DGP, Sukhbir accepts all mistakes and tenders unconditional apology in letter submitted on July 24 to Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who had summoned him to respond to allegations by rebel SAD leaders. Panj Singh Sahiban (Sikh clergy) to meet soon to decide on action against SAD chief.
Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh temporal seat, on Monday made the apology letter submitted by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal to jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh on July 24 public. In the letter, Sukhbir, who was summoned by the jathedar to respond to allegations made by SAD rebels, tendered an unconditional apology for “all mistakes committed by the party and its government”.
Giani Raghbir Singh had summoned Sukhbir after rebel SAD leaders, including former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Jagir Kaur, former ministers Surjit Singh Rakhra and Parminder Singh Dhindsa, besides party leaders Charanjit Singh Brar, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Sucha Singh Chhotepur, Bhai Manjit Singh and Gurpartap Singh Wadala, met him with an apology letter on July 1, citing four major mistakes.
The mistakes they cited were the revocation of the blasphemy case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim for imitating Guru Gobind Singh in 2007; the failure to punish perpetrators of the Bargari sacrilege and police officials for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents; allowing the appointment of controversial IPS officer Sumedh Singh Saini as the Punjab DGP besides giving Farzana Alam, the wife of controversial police officer Izhar Alam, the party ticket in the 2012 assembly elections and appointing her chief parliamentary secretary; and lastly, failing to deliver justice to victims in fake encounter cases.
The SAD rebels squarely blamed Sukhbir, who was the deputy chief minister at that time, for these mistakes.
In response, the SAD president accepted all the mistakes and tendered an unconditional apology in his explanation letter.
“Arguments are made in case one wants to convince the other and he or she has an intention to hide anything. I am a humble servant of Guru Ghar and am always committed to Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib. I am praying before the Guru with a true heart without indulging in a debate. Whatever written is lodged against us, the servant (Sukhbir) apologises to Guru Sahib and Guru Panth unconditionally by appearing at the Akal Takht Sahib. Being head of the family, the servant accepts all the mistakes. Be it the party which committed the mistakes, or the government, the servant seeks forgiveness consciously or unconsciously for them,” read the letter.
“Every kind of decree issued by Akal Takht Sahib as per Gurus’ traditions will be accepted by me and my colleagues happily. I pray to Akal Purkh (timeless God) for Chardi Kala (high spirits) of the Panth and Punjab,” Sukhbir added in the letter.
The SAD was in power in Punjab in alliance with the BJP from 2007-17.
Response includes atonement letter of Parkash Singh Badal
In the first part of the response, Sukhbir reproduced the atonement letter submitted by then chief minister late Parkash Singh Badal to the Takht on October 17, 2015. Sukhbir said that his father submitted this letter written to express his pain by personally appearing before the then jathedar.
“What has happened over the last few days is extremely painful. This has caused a deep mental hurt to entire Punjabi community, particularly the Sikhs. Such an unforeseen turn of events is acquiring new ways which may prove more hurtful. Being administrative head of the state, I am acutely conscious of the prevailing sequence of events. I have tried to perform my duties with utmost care and a deep sense of commitment. I have led my entire life in accordance with commitment and religious tenets. Sometimes events in one’s life take such an unexpected turn which is beyond one’s reach and comprehension. As a result of which one has to endure deep mental anguish which leaves one’s spirit shaken to the core. A sense of repentance grows inside and, I am experiencing that with pain and anguish. With such feelings in my heart, I humbly bow before my Guru and pray that Waheguru grants strength and grace to endure all this,” reads the letter by Parkash Singh Badal.
Before making Sukhbir’s letter public, Giani Raghbir Singh, Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Takht Kesgarh Sahib jathedar Giani Sultan Singh held an informal meeting at the Takht secretariat. “The clarification letter has been made public keeping in end the confusion being created about it. The final decision will be taken about this in light of Sikh principles at the next meeting of the Panj Singh Sahiban (Sikh clergy) to be held in the near future at Takht Sahib,” said Talwinder Singh Butter, the media adviser of the jathedar.
Earlier, Sukhbir had sought forgiveness from the community publicly for the sacrilege incidents that pushed the party to the backfoot and fuelled a backlash against it in 2015.
Addressing the party leadership at a function organised at Akal Takht to celebrate the 103rd foundation day of the SAD on December 14 last year, Sukhbir had said, “I regret that the sacrilege took place during our rule. The sangat (community) is enraged over the fact that it happened during the Panthic sarkar’s rule. Standing in front of Akal Takht, as chief volunteer of the SAD, I would like to apologise to the Guru Maharaj and Panth if anybody was hurt by any of our acts during our government’s rule.”
In 2018, SAD leaders, including its patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, had gathered at the holiest Sikh shrine on the SAD foundation day to jointly seek forgiveness for mistakes committed during their rule.
SGPC clarification made public, too
The SGPC clarification was also made public in which its president Harjinder Singh Dhami responded to SAD rebel leaders’s charges over newspapers advertisements released by the gurdwara body for ₹90 lakh in 2015 to justify the pardon granted to the Dera head in the blasphemy case.
In the letter, the SGPC said that the advertisement was released by the then chief secretary Harcharan Singh on the orders of then president Avtar Singh Makkar to uphold the maryada and respect of Akal Takht. Both the office-bearers have passed away.