SAD working committee appeals to Sukhbir Badal to reconsider his resignation as party chief

CHANDIGARH: The working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Monday unanimously appealed to Sukhbir Singh Badal to reconsider his resignation as party president and asserted that if he did not accept its request the entire committee would resign en masse.

The working committee, which is the supreme body of the SAD, also alleged a "conspiracy" against the SAD to render the party leaderless.

The committee has not taken any decision on Badal's resignation and said it would take the views of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members and other party members before taking any call on it.

Badal, who had been declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht, on Saturday tendered his resignation as the SAD president, a post he had been holding since 2008.

The working committee meeting was called on Monday to consider Badal's resignation and chart out the next course of action, including the conduct of elections for the new president of the party.

The committee passed a resolution, expressing its complete confidence in Badal's leadership, and said he should continue to steer the party as its president. "This is the need of the hour," it read.

"We will not allow such a conspiracy (to make SAD leaderless) to succeed at any cost. Sukhbir Badal is our leader and will continue to be our leader," it said.

The meeting, which was attended by senior party leaders including party's working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar, senior leaders Daljit Singh Cheema, Bikram Singh Majithia and Paramjit Singh Sarna, lasted for about three hours.

Addressing the media here, Bhundar said the committee will take the views of the party's district presidents, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee members and 'halqa' in charges before taking a final call on the matter.

Bhundar said committee members did not mince their words while praising Badal and conveying that the party needed his services even more so at this crucial juncture.

"This is why they stood up collectively in one voice and asserted that they would also tender their resignation in case the President did not withdraw the same," he said.

Bhundar said he had been flooded by calls from district presidents, 'halka' in charges, SGPC members and Youth Akali Dal and Istri Akali Dal members for the last two days.

"Some members have already forwarded their resignations to me to express solidarity with the party president. All these persons are perturbed at the sudden turn of events and have expressed their anguish to me personally. The leaders have told me they want to convey their sentiments to the party.

Accordingly, I have decided to convene formal meetings of district presidents, constituency in charges and SGPC members to hear their viewpoint and arrive at a broader consensus on this critical issue," he said.

Meanwhile, former MLA and senior party leader N K Sharma on Monday tendered his resignation from the SAD in support of Sukhbir Singh Badal.

"If Sukhbir Badal is not the president then I cannot be in the party," Sharma told reporters here.

"I have told the working committee that when Sukhbir Badal becomes the president, then he will join," he added.

He alleged that Sukhbir Badal was being "humiliated under a well-planned conspiracy".

Before the working committee meeting, Youth Akali Dal president Sarabjeet Singh Jinjher appealed to the working committee not to accept the resignation of Badal.

On August 30, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh declared Badal 'tankhaiya' for "mistakes" committed by the SAD and its government from 2007 to 2017.

The jathedar is yet to pronounce 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Badal.

The 103-year-old political outfit SAD has been facing the worst rebellion in its history with a section of party leaders revolting against Badal, demanding that he step down as party chief following the SAD's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.

Badal was declared 'tankhaiya' after rebel party leaders appeared before the Akal Takht on July 1, seeking forgiveness for four "mistakes" during the SAD regime between 2007 and 2017, which included the failure to punish those responsible for 2015 sacrilege incidents and pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case.

The SAD has not put up any candidate for the bypolls at four assembly segments in Punjab over the issue.