The SAD looks set to accept the resignation of its president Sukhbir Singh Badal in the coming days in line with the 2 Dec 2024 directive from the Akal Takht (Eternal Throne; AT). Badal, who had stepped down on 16 Nov 2024 amid allegations of Panthic (Sikh collective) political misconduct, subsequently underwent religious punishment and performed Ardas (prayers) at the AT. However SAD remains reluctant to implement the second directive requiring the party’s membership drive to be conducted through a seven-member committee. At the same time, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has reversed its 9 Dec resolution demanding excommunication of former militant Narain Singh Chaura, who attempted to assassinate Badal at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) on 4 Dec 2024 (WD Vol 2, Issue 49, Story 3). Meanwhile, the SGPC commenced a Paath (prayer) in memory of former AT Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke, a figure remembered for his pivotal role in rebuilding the AT after the 1984 Operation Bluestar. However, there is no progress on the findings of the December 2023 report detailing Jathedar Kaunke’s extrajudicial killing in 1991 (WD Vol 1, Issue 5, Story 4). Amid these developments, Tarsem Singh, father of jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, announced plans to launch a new political party in Panjab on 14 Jan at Maghi Mela (in memory of the forty Sikh martyrs) at Muktsar, Panjab. An Indian Express article detailing the new political party was reportedly censored in India and Australia, and later deleted and reuploaded. In other news, in Jaipur, a Thar driven by a police officer's minor son rammed into a Sikh procession during an evening kirtan (devotional singing), injuring four people. The vehicle, registered to a company, has six prior traffic violations.
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