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SAD, rebel group hold parallel events to mark Longowal’s death anniversary
The rebel group alleged that the party chief’s closeness to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim led to the electoral downfall.
The split in the oldest regional party of the country became more pronounced after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the rebel group held separate programmes to mark the 39th death anniversary of former Akali Dal president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal at village Longowal in Sangrur district.
In a scathing attack on Sukhbir Badal, the rebel group alleged that the party chief’s closeness to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim led to the electoral downfall.
Alleging that the SAD has turned into a one-family party, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, former minister and a key member of the rebel group, said: “Ever since Sukhbir Badal became SAD president, the party has been on a downward trajectory. The public has lost faith in SAD with the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), and Sukhbir Badal is solely responsible for this.” Senior leaders, including Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Jagir Kaur, Gurpratap Wadala and Surjit Singh Rakhra, were also present.
Echoing similar sentiments, former MLA Gaganjit Singh Barnala said that when you abandon the Panth and align yourself with the Dera chief it was inevitable that the people would respond accordingly.
“Sukhbir’s association with Ram Rahim is well-known, and it has severely damaged the party,” he alleged.
Senior SAD leader and rebel group member Prem Singh Chandumajra said that their Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar (Akali Dal reform movement) is gaining traction among the panthic community and soon “we will launch a door-to-door campaign across every village in Punjab to reconnect people with SAD.”
Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Badal in his address didn’t even refer to rebels but instead raised the issue of the release of Sikh prisoners and targeted Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh.
Sukhbir accused pro-Khalistan supporters, including MP Amritpal Singh, of diverting attention from the longstanding demand for the release of Sikh prisoners who had been incarcerated for over 30 years.
“It is clear who should be released first—those like Balwant Singh Rajoana and Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, who have spent more than three decades in prison, or those who have been detained for only a year. We do not want a repeat of the circumstances that led to the martyrdom of Sant Longowal,” Sukhbir said. Longowal was assassinated on August 20, 1985, at Sherpur in Sangrur.
