Akali Dal catches a break with Punjab sacrilege report, but not yet in the clear

Though the report would have come as a relief for the beleaguered party, it may not bring an end to the troubles the SAD has faced over the incidents.

The incidents of sacrilege occurred at a time when the SAD and the BJP were in power in the state, with Parkash Singh Badal as the chief minister and his son Sukhbir the deputy CM. Over the years, parties such as the Congress and the AAP, and Sikh outfits such as the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) have hit out at the Badals for failing to stop the sacrilege.

In a statement after Mann handed over the report to Sikh community representatives Amreek Singh Ajnala, Major Singh Pandori, Chamkaur Singh, Resham Singh, and Baldev Singh, the SAD said, “The SIT report on the painful sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is out, proving beyond doubt the innocence of Shiromani Akali Dal, its government and leaders.”

The party accused the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party-led governments of deploying “every trick to present lies as truth”. It hit out at “several anti-Sikh parties and personalities, two governments and three chief ministers” who, it alleged, misused government power to “tarnish the image of the tallest Panthic leader S Parkash Singh Badal and SAD with outrageously baseless allegations on an involving the sacred Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj”.

The SAD has faced steady electoral reverses since it lost power in 2017 and following the defeat in the Sangrur bypoll last month its leadership faced calls for resignation from an official of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Following the release of the report, the party claimed that it stood vindicated and added that the inquiry “upheld the Panthic commitment and integrity of Parkash Sing Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal as well as of our party”.

However, according to political observers, it remains to be seen if the report will put an end to questions about the alleged proximity between the SAD and the Dera Sacha Sauda that is said to have existed years ago.

The Akal Takht excommunicated Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2007 after a case was registered against him for hurting the sentiments of Sikhs. But the charges were dropped after the Punjab Police filed contradictory affidavits that were said to have ultimately helped the accused in court. The SAD and the BJP were in power at the time. Sikh outfits have cited this to allege that the SAD favoured Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and the Dera Sacha Sauda even before the sacrilege incidents occurred.

The party was also accused of using the SGPC to make then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh issue a pardon to the Dera chief in the 2007 case and revoke the excommunication just before the release of Rahim’s movie in September 2015. This was just three months after the first case of sacrilege (the theft of Guru Granth Sahib) was registered (on June 1) and Sikh outfits began suspecting the role of the Dera Sacha Sauda. The other two sacrilege cases were registered within a month of the pardon being issued.

Also, the SAD is not completely out of the woods as two SITs investigating the police firing in Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan have not yet completed their probes. The police shot at anti-sacrilege protesters at these two places in October 2015. Two protesters were killed in the firing in Behbal Kalan.

Till the SAD is completely beyond reproach in connection with the sacrilege cases and the police firing incidents, it is likely to find it difficult to regain its earlier dominant position among the Sikh vote bank. And till that happens, performances like the one in Sangrur, where the electorate voted for Simranjit Singh Mann’s SAD (Amritsar) and the Badals’ candidate lost her deposit, are likely to continue.