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Sikh clergy meet on Aug 30, likely to discuss Sukhbir’s apology letter
A crucial meeting of the Sikh clergy led by Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh will be held on August 30 to decide on “forgiveness” sought by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal for “mistakes committed by the party and its government”
AMRITSAR : A crucial meeting of the Sikh clergy led by Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh will be held on August 30 to decide on “forgiveness” sought by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal for “mistakes committed by the party and its government”.
The Akal Takht secretariat spokesperson said the meeting will be held at 10am on August 30, during which discussions will be held on important “Panthic” activities.
The main topic of discussion will be the explanation letter submitted by the SAD president in which he tendered an unconditional apology for all mistakes of the party and its government between 2007 and 2017, people familiar with the development said.
Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had summoned Sukhbir after rebel SAD leaders 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, failure to punish perpetrators of 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 appeared before the Takht and accepted all the mistakes and tendered an unconditional apology in his explanation letter that was made public by the Takht on Monday.
