Crisis in SAD: Sikh activists urge Akal Takht to form Panthic council

GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 3
Several Sikh activists have appealed to Akal Takht that a Sikh convention should be called up before taking any decision on the existential crisis that emerged in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Guilty must be held accountable
It happened for the first time in history that the SGPC had to take a step ahead in justifying Akal Takht’s decision by releasing advertisements, as was done in 2015. The ‘puja da dhan’ (devotees’ offerings) should never be wasted like that. We propose that the then SGPC office-bearers and the executive body members who are alive should also be held accountable. — Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, SGPC Member

The ‘admission of guilt’ by a group of rebel (now expelled) Akalis before Akal Takht has put both the Akali Dal and the SGPC in a difficult situation. On July 24, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had submitted their clarifications separately before Akal Takht.
Referring to the flip-flop exoneration of Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Sikh activists — Parminder Pal Singh Khalsa of the Sikh Sewak Society International, Santokh Singh of the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Advanced Sikh Studies, and Harsimran Singh, Prof Balwinder Singh and Baljit Singh of the Sikh Missionary College — made this submission to Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh that merely imposing ‘tankha’ (religious punishment) would not resolve the issue, but a concrete decision needs to be taken.
They also suggested that a Panthic council could be formed under the leadership of Akal Takht in coordination with the SGPC. “All eyes are now on the five high priests’ meeting headed by the Jathedar to take a call on the clarifications submitted by the SAD and the SGPC. They should never get away with the immunity simply by undergoing mild religious punishment. We requested the Jathedar to have a consolidated opinion of the Sikh representatives before finalising the decision,” the Sikh activists said.
On July 1, the disgruntled Akalis sought an apology at Akal Takht for being part of the ‘mistakes’ committed during the SAD regime between 2007-2017, leading to SAD losing people’s faith. Similarly, the SGPC was questioned for alleged misuse of Rs 91 lakh ‘golak money’ (money offered by the devotees) on advertisements to justify the pardon to the Sirsa dera.