Chandigarh: Former Jathedar of the Akal Takth Giani Harpreet Singh was Monday chosen president of the rebel Shiromani Akali Dal, a breakaway faction of the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Akali Dal.
A general house meeting of delegates of the rebel party was held at the Gurdwara Burj Akali Poohla Singh in Amritsar Monday during which Giani Harpreet Singh’s name was proposed and accepted unanimously.
Giani Harpreet Singh’s declaration as leader of the new Akali Dal is the culmination of a process he had himself set rolling 2 December 2024 as part of the gathering of the five Singh Sahibans (high priests) who had ordered Badal’s removal as party’s head as “punishment” for the “sins” against the Sikh community, of which he was found guilty. Giani Harpreet Singh who had once been the Jathedar of the Akal Takth (highest temporal body of the Sikhs), was then heading the Takth Damdama Sahib as Jathedar before he was sacked by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in February.
Badal offered to resign following Akal Takht’s verdict and his resignation was accepted by the party in January. Badal was re-elected as the head by party delegates in April despite opposition from the rebel group who termed his election a violation of the Akal Takht’s verdict.
Punjab historian Paramjit Singh Judge told ThePrint that the real Akali Dal will always be the one that has control over the SGPC. “Things will not change in Akali politics until fresh elections to the SGPC are held. But the elections do not suit anyone. The Akali Dal doesn’t want it for obvious reasons. The BJP at the Centre too feels that the Sukhbir group is easier to manage because it is weak and the Aam Aadmi Party also doesn’t want the balance of power to shift to another Akali Dal which might be stronger,” he said.
Prof Harjeshwar Singh of the department of history at SGGS College, Sector 26 in Chandigarh told ThePrint that while it was commendable that the new Akali Dal has been formed after following a democratic process from the bottom up through elections by delegates, it remains to be seen how much electoral space this new Akali Dal captures.
“Fighting elections involves a lot of things—money, organisation, ideas and an expanded social base. There remain a lot of question marks on these issues,” said Harjeshwar Singh.
“It certainly is a big setback for Sukhbir’s Akali Dal as most of the idealist and religious minded will gravitate to the new Akali Dal,” he said.
“Also with so many claimants for the Panthic space—Sukhbir, Amritpal, Simranjit Mann and the new Akali Dal, there is bound to be a question mark on their individual viability in the electoral arena if the space remains fractured,” he added.
“In my opinion, in SGPC elections, the new Akali Dal should perform well compared to the mainstream elections,” said Harjeshwar Singh.
On Monday Harpreet Singh projected his party as the “real” Akali Dal. Addressing the meeting of the delegates after being declared president, Harpreet Singh said he will soon be taking over the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Akali Dal’s election symbol and their office as well. “I suggest that those supporting Sukhbir Badal should leave his group and join us. An Akali Dal ticket will lead them nowhere,” said Harpreet Singh.
He added that had he not been humiliated and removed as Jathedar he would not have accepted the headship of the party. “They are now threatening me that they have a lot against me. But let them try to defame me. I will lay them bare outside their own homes. I too have a lot against them,” he said.
“I have been chosen by 15 lakh persons of all religions to serve the almighty. Punjab and panth (Sikh community) will be my priority,” added Harpreet Singh.
Apart from Badal’s removal, the five Singh Sahibans that included Harpreet Singh, had on 2 December ordered the creation of a seven-member committee to launch a drive to recruit fresh members to the party who will further choose delegates who will then choose the party’s new president. The seven-member committee was to be headed by the president of the SGPC Harjinder Singh Dhami but he along with another member did not participate in the proceedings of the seven-member committee.
The remaining five members of the committee were Akali rebels led by SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali. Speaking during the general house meeting of the rebel party’s delegates Monday, Ayali claimed that the five-member committee had carried out a massive recruitment campaign of members running into lakhs from among whom the delegates were chosen. He said the five-member committee had worked with honesty and followed the highest standards of democratic functioning. “We worked transparently and in accordance with the orders of the Akali Takth,” said Ayali.
The process of recruiting new members by the five-member committee had run parallel to a similar move undertaken by the working committee of the Akali Dal that had also held a general house meeting of delegates chosen from among its members and declared Badal President in April. “One group of the Akali Dal violated the orders of the Akali Takth and declared their own president,” alleged Ayali Monday.
Reacting to Harpreet Singh’s election as president of the rebel Akali Dal, SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said Monday the real intentions of Giani Harpreet Singh in having removed Sukhbir Badal as president and trying to divide the Sikhs have come out in the open. “It is clear that Giani Harpreet Singh was feeding his own political ambitions when acting as a Jathedar. His actions were directed towards this end,” said Kler.
Apart from declaring Harpreet Singh president of the rebel group, Ayali announced the creation of the “Panthic (religious) council” under Bibi Satwant Kaur, one of the five members of the recruitment committee. “The council will guide the Akali Dal and foster unity of purpose among Sikh bodies. All decisions of the Akali Dal will be taken in consultation of the panthic council,” said Ayali.
Akali rebel leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala, who is also a member of the five-member recruitment committee, declared a series of resolutions passed during the general house meeting. These included extending support to the cause of farmers, farm labour and government employees. The house demanded the inclusion of Punjabi-speaking areas in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan into Punjab.
“Punjabis played a crucial role in India’s freedom struggle but when the states were formed on the basis of language, Punjab was not given its due,” said Wadala. The house also demanded security of places of worship of the Sikhs and other minorities in the rest of India. “We also demand that the government of India should not interfere in the working of places of worship of the Sikhs,” said Wadala.
“The Constitution of India should ensure that India becomes a truly federal set up and all states treated equally and can progress evenly,” added Wadala. He also referred to the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution but only in terms of more powers to states.
The present crisis in the party began last year when a rebel group of the party had submitted a complaint to Akal Takht Jathedar on 1 July alleging that Sukhbir Badal had taken several wrong decisions. These decisions, the group wrote in their complaint, were taken by Badal in his capacity as deputy CM and SAD chief.
Following the complaint against him, Badal presented himself before the Akal Takht on 15 July and admitted to the allegations apologising for his and his party’s decisions.
Badal was declared a ‘tankhaiya’ (a sinner, guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takth on 30 August on account of taking decisions that led to “severe depletion of the image of the Sikh community, deterioration of the condition of the Shiromani Akali Dal and damaging Sikh interests”.
On 2 December, the Akal Takth led by the five high priests ordered his removal as chief of the party while giving him a series of religious punishments. Before announcing the punishments, Giani Harpreet Singh (as part of the five high priests) had lashed out at the Akali Dal for having failed to stand up for the Sikh community.
Giani Harpreet Singh held the Akali Dal responsible for pushing Punjab into the dark decades of militancy. He said that the Akali Dal was in power in 1978 when 13 Sikhs were killed on Baisakhi day. “The Akali Dal failed the community and as a result the community had to resort to protecting itself using weapons. That led to much bloodshed. The police barbarically killed hundreds of innocents including women and children,” he said.
He said that after Operation Bluestar in 1984 when the Akalis came to power in 1987, they were expected to heal the wounds left open. “But the Akalis rubbed salt into the wounds. Instead of giving justice to those who fought against the cruel system that had killed hundreds of Sikh youth, the Akalis started promoting Dera culture in Punjab,” said Giani Harpreet Singh.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)