Akali Dal meeting next week to decide on Sukhbir’s resignation

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold a meeting of its working committee in a week’s time to take a decision on accepting the resignation tendered by Sukhbir Singh Badal as party chief.

Sukhbir resigned in November last year, handing over the party’s reins to senior most and veteran Akali Balwinder Singh Bhundar as a working president.

On December 2 the jathedar (head Priest) of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, pronounced tankah for atonement of religious misconduct committed during two terms of the SAD-BJP government from 2007-2012 and 2012-2017, asking the working committee to accept resignation within three days.

The temporal seat had also constituted a seven-member committee led by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami to reconstitute the party within six months.

The leaders of the party, including Sukhbir, were also told to perform sewa at Sikh shrines including Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar which they have performed.

According to Bhundar the meeting of the core committee will be called shortly, to work on the party’s re-organisation. Though Bhundar refused to comment on a date, sources within the party said that the meeting would be called within a week. “The party would accept Sukhbir Badal’s resignation and start a process to reorganise the party as per Akal Takht edict leading to re-election of the president,” a senior party leader said, pleading anonymity.

SAD has not been keen to accept Akal Takht’s directed re-organisation of the party, fearing that it would violate the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act, which might, as per the legal expert consulted by the party, lead to de-recognition by the Election Commission of India (ECI). SAD has also conveyed this to the Akal Takht.