CHANDIGARH: The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will hold a crucial meeting in Amritsar on Sunday to decide whether its Sikh MLAs and Cabinet ministers will appear before the Akal Takht on Monday over objections to provisions of the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, passed by the Punjab Assembly on April 13.
The meeting will be chaired by AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal has already reached Amritsar for the meeting, which is expected to finalise the party's response to the summons issued by the Sikh temporal authority.
Some AAP MLAs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were recently instructed during a video conference with the party leadership not to comment on any Panthic issue or the purported video controversy involving Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. They said some legislators had also conveyed to the leadership that the party should not abstain from appearing before the Akal Takht, as the Sangat would not support a confrontation with the highest temporal authority of Sikhs.
Congress MLAs have confirmed that they will appear before the Akal Takht. The lone Shiromani Akali Dal MLA has also confirmed his appearance.
The Akal Takht Secretariat issued notices to all Sikh MLAs and Sikh Cabinet ministers through email and WhatsApp on June 17 and 18, directing them to appear before the Akal Takht on June 29. Officials also contacted them over the phone regarding the summons. A separate communication was sent to Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on June 23.
Meanwhile, the non-Sikh members of the Punjab Cabinet have been asked to submit their written responses on the matter before June 29.
