SAD chief Sukhbir Badal warns of forces seeking to destabilise Punjab
After attack on him in Nanded, Shiromani Akali Dal chief says attempts to target Sikh leadership aim to disturb peace and bring back Punjab’s ‘dark days’
Chandigarh, Aug 25 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said Punjab should be saved from forces which have only one target of disturbing peace and foment trouble in the state.
Badal was speaking to reporters after offering 'shukrana' at Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda days after he was attacked in Nanded in Maharashtra.
He said there are such forces which want to finish Punjab's Sikh leadership.
On August 13, he sustained injuries to his right hand in a 'kirpan' (ceremonial dagger) attack by a member of the Nihang order inside a gurdwara on the outskirts of the Maharashtra town. The attacker was later arrested.
Badal said he visited Takht Damdama Sahib to offer 'shukrana' for saving him from the attack.
"I just want to say that we should save Punjab. There are such forces which do not consider Punjab as their home and want to finish Punjab's leadership, Sikh leadership.
"They have only target which is to disturb peace and foment trouble in the state and bring back the dark days," the SAD chief said.
He said his 105-year-old party always raised voice against injustice.
"We will never let the condition of Punjab deteriorate. Peace, mutual brotherhood, respect of all religions and progress of Punjab is the SAD's mission," he said.
Badal was accompanied by his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and senior party leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundar, Daljit Singh Cheema and Arshdeep Singh Kler.
The attack on Badal in Nanded was the second such incident in around two years. In December 2024, he survived an assassination attempt while he was performing 'sewadar' duty at the Golden Temple in Amritsar after the Akal Takht pronounced the 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for "mistakes" committed during the party's rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017. PTI