Sukhbir Singh Badal Apologizes for Sacrilege Incidents

Staring at dwindling fortunes and lack of revival in many years, on 14 Dec, at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbux Singh, Amritsar, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal apologized over the incidents of sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. Badal was speaking at the party’s 103^rd Foundation Day. He said, ‘We are perceived as a Panthic government and we are a Panthic party but we could not apprehend the culprits.’ He referenced the 2015 Bargari incident but officially there have been 272 sacrilege incidents between 2015-2021. The DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka, who won the Delhi Gurdwara Committee elections on the SAD symbol in 2021 and was later expelled in 2022 for revolting against SAD, strongly criticized Badal’s apology. He said the apology was a drama and listed out a number of issues for which the SAD is responsible. ‘There can’t be a sin greater than a mere apology for letting the culprits escape. Today you talk about Sikh prisoners but you had appointed Sumedh Singh Saini as the Director General of Police of Panjab. You had forgiven Dera Sacha Sauda head and then used the community’s funds to advertise it. Are you apologizing for that and for supporting the Dera followers?’ It is interesting to note that SAD, which started as a Sikh party and changed its outlook to a Panjab party at its 1995 Moga convention, is now again claiming to be a panthic (Sikh) party. It is yet to be seen if the apology assuages the Sikh community and the party is able to revive itself.