16 july 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : On a day when the Akal Takht Jathedar summoned Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal in connection with charges levelled by rebel Akali leaders, the rebel faction announced launching a “SAD reform movement”.
Nakodar ex-MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala would be the convener of that movement. The rebels would organise special programmes to remember the “forgotten” Akali leaders, who, they said, had played a key role in the party’s growth.
Prominent among those to be remembered are Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who remained the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president for record 27 times. His 100th birth anniversary would be celebrated on September 24. The rebels would also remember Master Tara Singh, a pivotal figure in Sikh politics, who was instrumental in the formation of the SGPC besides opposing Partition of the country and a separate nation for the Sikhs.
They welcomed the summoning of Sukhbir Badal by the Akal Takht.
Sukhbir loyalists, led by ex-MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder, also held meetings in the SAD office in Sector 28 here amid tight security by the police and activists of the Akali Dal youth wing following social media reports that rebels might reach the party head office in the evening.
SAD spokesperson Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema said there was no space for the leaders who launched a programme against the party at its head office here, asserting that the party workers would not tolerate such elements.
Dr Cheema said this while giving details of a meeting held in the party office to galvanise party workers for enrolling voters for the ensuing SGPC elections and four byelections.
The rebels, who held a meeting at a convention centre in Sector 36 here, announced a detailed programme to reform and revitalise the Akali Dal.
SGPC ex-president Jagir Kaur said senior leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was the patron of the group while Gurpartap Singh Wadala would be the convener of the SAD Sudhar Lehar (reform movement) that was aimed at cleansing the party. Wadala said a presidium of leaders would be formed to take future decisions.
Prem Singh Chandumajra, senior leader of the rebels, said the Akali Dal came into being in 1920 because of the Gurdwara Reforms Movements, but the party itself needed reforms now. “The party forgot leaders like Tohra and Master Tara Singh and has instead come under the rule of one family,” he added.
While both factions became active today, Bikram Singh Majithia, brother-in-law of the party president, maintained silence. Party sources said he and firebrand leader Virsa Singh Valtoha had advised the party president earlier to apologise before Akal Takht for advertent or inadvertent mistakes so that the chapter about the wrongdoings could be closed forever.
