Chandigarh, April 9 Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Thursday criticised Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal over his remarks on religious punishment.
He said such statements undermine the authority of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikh community, and "amount to a direct attack on its sanctity and the collective sentiments of the community".
"The Akal Takht is the supreme spiritual and temporal authority of the 'Panth'. Every edict issued by it is a divine command that cannot be questioned with 'ifs' and 'buts'," Bains said, adding that those who challenge its authority cannot claim to represent the community.
The minister was reacting to Badal's recent statement that "central agencies" had hatched conspiracies to expel him from politics.
The Akal Takht, on December 2, 2024, had pronounced religious punishment on Badal and other leaders for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal and the government under it in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
"Over the last year, I have been the target of many attacks. An attempt was made to shoot me. Some people who call themselves religious leaders – I don't even want to give them that status – intended to eliminate the Badal name, in connivance with central agencies. They wanted to get me out of politics," Badal said at a recent rally in Muktsar.
Responding to this, Bains said, "To say that the decisions of Sri Akal Takht Sahib were influenced by agencies is the most disgraceful statement any so-called Sikh leader could make."
Calling for immediate intervention, Bains urged acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj to take serious note of Badal's statement.
"Sukhbir Badal has attacked Sri Akal Takht Sahib with his words. This is an invasion of our faith. Any Sikh who does not accept the Akal Takht's edict or questions its authority forfeits their right to be called a Sikh. Action must be taken against him," the minister said.
He further noted that former Akal Takht Sahib Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had also condemned Badal's statement and called upon the 'Panth' to stand united against any attempt to question the authority of the Takht.
Responding to a media query on the Sri Anandpur Sahib Heritage Street project, Bains alleged that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) stalled the project due to political considerations, "fearing that the credit would go to others".
"I was assigned the tourism department for two months. With great enthusiasm, we prepared the Heritage Street project for Sri Anandpur Sahib. It was vetted by the SGPC. Even today, a model of the project, including a Deodi, lies in front of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib," he said.
"The SGPC altered 90 per cent of the original design of the Heritage Street project for political reasons, as it did not want the credit to go elsewhere – neither to Harjot Singh Bains nor to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann," he claimed.
He said a similar 'Deodi' structure was already built at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.
"Then why was 90 per cent of the approved design changed? But as I have said, whatever the SGPC president or the Jathedar of Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib decide is a divine order for us. It was my heartfelt wish to see that project through," he said.
Bains said the current incline to Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib is too steep.
"I had planned stairs, a lift and an open way for 'Nagar Kirtan'. Today, neither the elderly nor others can climb the slope. But it's okay, whatever the SGPC orders," he added.