SAD didn’t withdraw blasphemy case against dera chief: Sukhbir

Says not even a single Akali worker’s name figured in sacrilege and firing cases despite multiple probes by Cong govt

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Friday that they didn’t withdraw the blasphemy case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh during the party’s tenure in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The case was registered in 2007.

Sukhbir was in Jalandhar to welcome the Democratic Party of India’s (DPI) move to extend support to the Akali Dal-Bahujana Samaj Party alliance for the 2022 assembly polls. Addressing a press conference, the ex-deputy chief minister said he wanted to make it clear that no single case of the dera chief was withdrawn during their term in power.

He said, “Despite multiple probes launched by the Congress government in over four years, not even single Akali worker’s name figured in the Bargari sacrilege and Behbal Kalan firing cases. Some pro-Congress religious preachers and Congress leaders forced the Akali Dal government for CBI probe in the sacrilege case. We transferred the cases to the CBI on their demand.”