SAD convenes working committee meet on Jan 10 to decide on Badal's resignation

Chandigarh, Jan 8 (PTI) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday said it has convened a meeting of its working committee on January 10 to take a call on the resignation of Sukhbir Singh Badal as party chief and also announce the schedule of the membership drive to pave the way for its restructuring.

The decision came hours after a delegation of the SAD met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh in Amritsar, apprising him of the legal hurdles being faced by the party in implementing his directive to form a seven-member committee to hold organisational elections of the party.

Senior party leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar has convened the meeting.

Cheema said besides considering the resignation of Badal, the party would also announce the schedule for the membership drive, besides discussing all important issues related to the state.

The Akal Takht Jathedar on Monday had asked the SAD to implement the edict, announced on December 2 last year, at the earliest, as he was referring to the direction of accepting the resignation of Badal as party chief.

While pronouncing religious punishment for Badal and other leaders for the "mistakes" committed by the SAD and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017 on December 2 last year, the Akal Takht had also directed that SAD's working committee to accept the resignation of Badal as party chief and other leaders.

Badal had undergone the religious punishment but the SAD's working committee was yet to accept his resignation, which he tendered in November last year.

Badal was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, on August 30 last year. He tendered his resignation as the party chief on November 16 last year but the party's working committee did not accept his resignation.

The SAD delegation led by Cheema said it apprised the Jathedar that the SAD had always accepted all the directives of the supreme temporal seat with utmost humility.

Cheema said all party leaders had undergone the religious punishment awarded to them by the Akal Takht and that Badal had also submitted his resignation to the party.

However, "technical issues" were coming in the way of formation of the seven-member committee as directed by the Takht, said Cheema.

He said while these issues had been explained to the Takht earlier also, the party delegation took time to explain the entire issue to the Jathedar in detail on Wednesday.

"All constitutional amendments, Supreme Court directives and Election Commission guidelines were submitted to the Takht in this regard", he added.

Cheema apprised the Jathedar that as according to the party's constitution, it was only the working committee which could decide about the membership drive.

He said the Jathedar agreed to the contention of the delegation.

"The Jathedar told us to act as per the party's constitution and said the party should not suffer. We thank the Jathedar for agreeing to it," Cheema told reporters in Amritsar.

Cheema took on "forces" which were "inimical" towards the SAD for "misleading" the people that there was no hurdle in implementing the directive on formation of a committee to monitor the organizational elections of the party.

"Such forces are now in the process of registering their own parties. I challenge them to make their applications public so that the people can understand how different they are vis a vis what they preach and what they will actually practice", he said.

Cheema said that according to the performa for registration of new parties, it was mandated that there would not be any religious or caste overtone in the name of the party and that its objectives would be in line with the constitution of the country.

"It is also mandated that all decisions of the parties would reflect the democratic spirit and that socialism and secularism would serve as tenets of the party. It is also clearly mentioned that all decisions would be taken in a democratic manner and that there will not be any veto power", he said.

The SAD had earlier apprised the Jathedar that reorganization of the party through the seven-member committee formed by the Akal Takht might lead to losing its recognition from the Election Commission of India as a political party should run in a secular manner and not as per directions of a religious body.

In its edict on December 2, the Akal Takht had formed a seven-member committee for starting the membership drive and holding the elections for the post of party president and other office bearers within six months.

The committee represented members of the Badal camp as well as of the now-dissolved SAD Sudhar Lehar group of rebel leaders. PTI CHS ZMN