CHANDIGARH: As many as 39 Sikh political leaders from the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal were awarded religious punishment (tankhah) by Akal Takht (Sikh religious authority) on Monday for seeking votes from Dera Sacha Sauda during the recent assembly elections.
These leaders had violated the 2007 directive of the Takht in which it had excommunicated the Dera head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, for impersonating Guru Gobind Singh.
Out of these leaders 18 are ‘patit’ Sikhs (Sikhs who have cut their hair) and they have been directed to perform ‘seva’ at the gurdwaras in their respective constituencies for ten days and then seek forgiveness as per Sikh tradition. Among these, two prominent leaders of the ruling Congress party are there - All India Youth Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Punjab cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.
Among the other 21 leaders (who are Sikhs with long hair and wear turban), twenty are from the Akali Dal and one is from Congress. They have been ordered to clean streets leading to the Golden Temple for a day, and to clean the whole parikrama of the shrine and shoes of devotees for two hours on another day.
Four leaders including Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Arjan Singh (son of Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal), Ajay Singh Bhatti — all from Congress and SAD leader Janmeja Singh Sekhon, did not present themselves before the Takht. It may be mentioned that Arjan is studying in the USA.
These leaders were called on the basis of report submitted by a three-member panel of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) on March 6. The committee consisting of Amarjit Singh Chawla and Gurcharan Singh Grewal handed over the report to Akal Takht Jathedar (high priest) Gurbachan Singh last month. The committee had taken feedback from all 117 constituencies in the State. The report mentioned all candidates of political parties who took Dera's support.
The high priest Gurbachan Singh wrote a letter to the SGPC asking for the list of Sikh candidates who sought the Dera's support. The matter came to light as the Dera openly supported Shiromani Akali Dal and a few party candidates also openly announced that they would support the Dera in holding religious congregations for its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in Punjab.
Sources said that the candidates who took the support of the Dera include Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Jagdeep Singh Nakai, Sikander Singh Maluka, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, Dilraj Singh Bhunder, Amit Ratan and Harpreet Singh from SAD besides others.