In his first public appearance in Punjab since the August 13 attack in Nanded, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal paid obeisance at Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo, and said divisive forces are bent on wiping out the leadership of the Sikh community with the sole aim of disturbing peace and fomenting trouble in the state.
“Punjabis should unite to maintain harmony and fight back the powers that are working to push the state into another phase of social and communal unrest,” Sukhbir said while addressing the media at the complex of the historic shrine.
“I just want to say that we should save Punjab. There are such forces which do not consider Punjab as their home and want to finish Punjab’s leadership, Sikh leadership. They have only one target, which is to disturb peace and foment trouble in the state and bring back the dark days,” he said.
The SAD chief was accompanied by his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and senior party leadership.
On August 13, Sukhbir sustained injuries to his right hand when Nihang Jaspal Singh, 64, attacked him with a kirpan inside Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji in Nanded.
A Maharashtra police officer in Sukhbir’s security detail was also injured after he intervened.
{{/usCountry}}A Maharashtra police officer in Sukhbir’s security detail was also injured after he intervened.
{{/usCountry}}Sukhbir said that SAD has a legacy of raising its voice for those suppressed by the governments.
“In its 105-year history, the SAD has fought to protect the interests of farmers, Punjabis and the Sikh community. Now, certain powers are working to destabilise Punjab and weaken the Akali leadership,” he said.
The attack on Sukhbir in Nanded was the second such incident in the past two years. In December 2024, he survived an assassination attempt while he was performing ‘sewadar’ duty at the Golden Temple in Amritsar after the Akal Takht pronounced the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for “mistakes” committed during the party’s rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.