Chandigarh (TIP)- More than a month after the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, “ordered” the removal of Sukhbir Singh Badal as president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the working committee of the party Friday, January 10, accepted his resignation.
Badal has been the party’s president since 2008, taking over the reins from his father Parkash Singh Badal who was chief minister of Punjab multiple times.
The SAD was created in 1920 during the gurdwara reform movement, a protest movement undertaken by the Sikhs to take over gurdwaras from the private control of mahants. The elder Badal had become the SAD president in 1995 and the party’s presidency has since remained with the Badal family.
“A new president will be elected by the party on 1 March,” said senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema, addressing a press conference Friday following a two-hour meeting of the party’s working committee in Chandigarh under the chairmanship of Balwinder Singh Bhunder.
Badal, who was also present at the meeting, told mediapersons that he had requested the working committee with folded hands to accept his resignation.
“When I had presented myself before the Akal Takht, I had done so as a humble Sikh and had already given my resignation to the party. Five years ago, the party had handed me this responsibility which I fulfilled to the best of my abilities. The workers of the party and leaders have given me complete support during the period. It is for the party to admit new members and choose a new president,” he said after the meeting.
After months of being under attack from within the SAD, Badal had offered to resign as party chief on 16 November last year but his resignation was not accepted by the working committee then. However, the day-to-day working of the party was being overseen by Bhunder.
Cheema said Bhunder would continue as SAD working president till a new party chief was elected. He said the parliamentary board of the SAD, which is also headed by Bhunder, will oversee the process of fresh membership (part of the process to elect the SAD president), and he himself would help as secretary.
According to Cheema, a fresh membership drive of the party will begin on 28 January and continue till 20 February. He also announced a list of almost two dozen senior leaders who would supervise the membership drive in their assigned areas.
The possibility of Badal being chosen again as president cannot be ruled out in case the delegates chosen from among the entire membership of the party pick him as their leader.
Reacting to Jan 10 development, leaders of the rebel group of the SAD led by Gurpartap Singh Wadala issued a statement alleging that the working committee of the party had taken the Sikh community for a ride and acted in a manner that would ensure that Badal was chosen again as president.
Prem Singh Chandumajra, one of the leaders of the rebel faction of the SAD, told mediapersons that the fact that the working committee had accepted the resignation of Badal was in accordance with the orders of the Akal Takht.
“However, there were certain other leaders who had also given their resignations and which also had to be accepted. Working committee has not done that so far,” he said.
Source: The Print
Sukhbir no longer SAD chief; 1st time a Badal not at helm of Punjab’s oldest party in 30 yrs
