Punjab: Akal Takht Orders Sukhbir Badal To Clean Gurdwara Toilets And Kitchen As Penance For 2015 Sacrilege Case

The Akal Takht, the supreme temporal authority of Sikhs, has directed former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Sukhbir Singh Badal to perform cleaning duties in the kitchen and bathrooms of a Gurdwara as penance for the 2015 sacrilege case.

Badal had supported Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in connection with the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. Additionally, his late father, Parkash Singh Badal, who also served as Punjab's CM, has been stripped of the Fakhr-e-Qaum title.

The decision was announced after a meeting of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh with Sikh clergies to address Panthic matters, including issues related to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) that are currently under consideration.

Sukhbir Badal, who currently uses a wheelchair, along with Akali Dal’s core committee members and leaders who held cabinet positions in 2015, will fulfill their penance by cleaning bathrooms on 3 December from 12 noon to 1 pm.

Following this, they are required to bathe and participate in serving langar, NDTV reported. The directive follows Sukhbir Badal’s submission of an unconditional apology to the Akal Takht, acknowledging his mistakes.

On 30 August, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was declared a 'Tankhaiya' by Shri Akal Takht Sahib, after the body unanimously decided that he, as the Deputy CM of the Punjab and president of the SAD, took some decisions which harmed the image of 'Panthak Swaroop'.