NEW DELHI: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders Daljit Singh Cheema, Bikram Singh Majithia, and Maheshinder Singh Grewal carried out a symbolic act of penance by cleaning toilets at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, following a religious punishment issued by the Akal Takht.
The leaders, performing the duties of ‘sewadars’ (volunteers), were carrying out the ‘tankhah‘ (religious penance) as prescribed by the five Singh Sahibans (Sikh clergy) for former SAD president and former Punjab chief minister Sukhbir Badal, along with other Sikh leaders from the party who served as ministers in his cabinet between 2007 and 2017.
Earlier in the day, Sukhbir Singh Badal himself had also carried out a form of ‘sewa‘ (service) outside the Golden Temple.
Despite being in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, Badal donned blue ‘sewadar’ clothes and held a spear in one hand as he served at the entrance of the shrine.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, another senior Akali leader, also underwent the same punishment due to his age and health, and performed duties in a wheelchair. Former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, meanwhile, washed utensils as part of his penance.
Both Badal and Dhindsa wore small boards around their necks, which acknowledged their “misdeeds.” They served as ‘sewadars’ for an hour, in a gesture of atonement for their actions during their time in power.
Before the punishment was announced, Sukhbir Badal had publicly admitted his mistakes, including the controversial pardon of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2007, related to a blasphemy case during the SAD-led government’s rule in Punjab.
This religious edict came nearly three months after Sukhbir Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht.
As part of their penance, the leaders were also instructed to listen to an hour of ‘kirtan’.
(With agency inputs)