Takht Jathedar calls 5 high priests on Dec 2 to decide on Sukhbir’s ‘tankhah’

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh has called up the five high priests for a meeting on December 2 to take a call on the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) to be awarded to SAD president Sukhbir Badal. On August 30, Sukhbir was declared ‘tankhaiya’, indicting him for controversial decisions taken during the party’s regime from 2007-2017 that had dented Panthic interests. However, the ‘tankhah’ was kept reserved.

Clarification sought

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh has sought clarification from the 2015 panel of Takht Jathedars Giani Gurbachan Singh (Akal Takht), Giani Gurmukh Singh (Takht Damdama Sahib) and Giani Iqbal Singh (Takht Patna Sahib) explaining the flip-flop decision of exonerating controversial Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim for the 2007 blasphemous act.

Sukhbir had approached the Takht with the repeated pleas to decide upon the punishment. He had stepped back and appointed Balwinder Singh Bhunder as working president, followed by submitting his resignation from the president’s chair, a decision on which was pending with the working committee.

Along with Sukhbir, as many as 17 other Sikh ministers or those who were given Cabinet rank or were members of the 2015 core committee of the party, have also been summoned to appear at the Takht on the designated day at 1 pm. They all were equally held guilty for being part of the contentious moves made by the then government. All have submitted their clarifications in writing at the Takht individually.

The SGPC president, Harjinder Singh Dhami, and members of the 2015 executive committee were also directed to be present during the meeting.

After the exoneration of Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim by the Takht, the SGPC’s then executive body’s role had also come under scanner. It was decided by the executive body, headed by the then SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar, that advertisements worth Rs 91 lakh from ‘golak’ be released in newspapers to justify the controversial ‘pardon’ given to Dera Sirsa cult in September 2015, which was rolled back later.

This was followed by a series of sacrilege incidents, followed by firing incidents at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura, both in Faridkot district, which claimed the lives of two innocents who were part of the protest against sacrilege incidents.

However, the former Sikh ministers (2007-2017) who were also directed to appear at the Akal Takht included Bikram Singh Majithia, Manpreet Singh Badal, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Upinderjit Kaur, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Sucha Singh Langah, Janmeja Singh, Hira Singh, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Sohan Singh, Daljit Singh Cheema, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Surjit Singh, Maheshinder Singh, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Sikandar Singh Maluka (the trio are in the rebel camp), now expelled from the party.

It was a group of Akalis who had approached the Takht on July 1, against the then Deputy CM and Home Minister Sukhbir with the ‘admittance of guilt’ that they were part of the ‘mistakes’ committed which dented the Panth, leading to losing people’s faith and party’s political debacle.