Akali Dal drags Sikh institutions into political battles: Punjab AAP

Chandigarh, June 15 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Monday said that, after losing the people's trust and facing repeated electoral defeats, the Shiromani Akali Dal has dragged revered Sikh institutions into its political battle in a desperate bid to regain relevance.

AAP media in‑charge Baltej Pannu said the so‑called forensic report being used to target Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has failed to establish even the identity of the person seen in the video, exposing what he described as another failed attempt by Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and its leader Bikram Singh Majithia to defame the Chief Minister.

Pannu said the Badal family, under whose rule Punjab witnessed ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) incidents and the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan tragedies, is now trying to claim moral authority while remaining unable to digest the fact that the government has enacted Punjab’s toughest law against ‘beadbi’ and delivered transformative governance through initiatives ranging from increased canal water reach and daytime power for farmers to Rs 10 lakh health insurance for families.

Responding to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj’s announcement to declare Chief Minister Mann guilty over an objectionable video purportedly showing him in an act that hurt Sikh sentiments, Pannu told the media that Akal Takht is the supreme and most revered institution of Sikhs across the world and cannot be treated as the personal estate of Badal or the Shiromani Akali Dal.

“Sri Akal Takht Sahib belongs to the entire Panth across the world, not to Sukhbir Badal or the Shiromani Akali Dal. The Jathedar Sahib was appointed in the middle of the night at the behest of Sukhbir Badal without consulting Sikh sects or organisations, and at a place where there was not even ‘Parkash’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib,” he said.

“Under such circumstances, his loyalty towards the Badal family and the statement of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami describing himself as a soldier of Sukhbir Badal are proof of the politicisation of these revered Sikh institutions,” Pannu added.

Questioning the forensic report released in connection with the controversial video, Pannu said: “The report nowhere states who the person visible in the video actually is. Even if we accept the claim that the video was not generated by AI, the Jathedar must explain the height of the individual seen in the video. Does the height of CM Bhagwant Mann match the height of the person visible in the footage? Which hotel room is it where photographs of Guru Sahib are displayed, as is being claimed? The report has completely failed to establish who is actually visible in the video.”

Pannu said in the coming days, the Aam Aadmi Party will place the complete truth before the people and expose every aspect of this controversy.

He added that after the people of Punjab gave the Aam Aadmi Party a massive mandate in 2022 and formed the government under Chief Minister Mann, traditional political parties struggled to come to terms with the changing political landscape.

“Their initial propaganda was that this government would not survive three months or even a year. When the government started delivering results and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann went to the hospital for a health check‑up, their frustration reached such a level that Bikram Singh Majithia resorted to low‑level politics by displaying a video of the Chief Minister’s daughter during a press conference. However, the people of Punjab were not influenced by such tactics,” he said.

--IANS

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