Akali Dal seeks forgiveness for unstated mistakes at Akal Takht
‘Akhand Path’ on at the gurdwara to the rear of the Takht; sewa to continue till Monday
AMRITSAR:NEARLY two years after its worst ever performance in the Assembly elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday tendered an apology at the Akal Takht for the mistakes it committed during its ten-year rule, without specifying what the party was atoning for.
Among those who attended the event were SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema.
The day started with the ardas by Bhai Sultan Singh, who recited lines from the Guru Granth Sahib seeking atonement for the mistakes. “Like the child, innocently making thousands of mistakes…please forgive my past actions, God, and place me on your path for the future,” was the gist of the ardas.
The ardasia also read out a few lines from a paper, saying, “With your blessings, the SAD got opportunity to serve the Khalsa Panth and Punjab for a long time. While serving both, your pupils might have committed several mistakes deliberately or inadvertently. You are one who always forgive the erring people. To seek forgiveness for these mistakes, your pupils have appeared before you here. You are requested to forgive them taking pity on them and give your blessings to the organisation so that it can again get opportunity to serve the Panth.”
It was followed by opening of the ‘Akhand Path’ (non-stop recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) at Gurdwara Baba Gurbakhsh Singh behind the Akal Takht. The bhog (concluding) ceremony will be held on Monday.
DON’T RELATE EVENT WITH POLITICS, SAYS BADAL SENIOR
Sukhbir avoided the media, while Badal Senior said the event was purely religious, organised to apologise for intentional or unintentional mistakes and perform ‘sewa’ (voluntary service) at the Golden Temple. “We have not come here for politics, nor will we talk about it. Don’t relate it with politics. We will brief the press on Monday,” he said.
Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, Golden Temple head granthi Giani Jagtar Singh and other granthis of the central Sikh shrines stayed away from the event. Hazuri ragis (permanent Gurbani exponents) kept singing ‘shabads’ related to seeking forgiveness at the sanctum sanctorum till the Badal family was inside.
BADAL FAMILY, OTHER LEADERS DO SEWA
Badal Senior did sewa by dusting and polishing shoes of devotees at the ‘joda ghar’ (shoe store) for 10 minutes and then cleaned utensils in the Langar Hall, before partaking of the langar.
Accompanied by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal and other senior office-bearers, Sukhbir spent an hour each doing sewa at the ‘joda ghar’ and the Langar Hall.
Apart from this, Union minister of food processing industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal also rolled ‘chapatis’ and cleaned utensils.
Other senior leaders of the party also did sewa.
As the sewa was done under security cover, a row sparked when some security guards from paramilitary forces and Punjab Police entered the premises wearing shoes. This occurred when Badal Senior and Sukhbir entered the Langar Hall. Shoes are not allowed outside the hall and the guards left the area after some devotees objected.
SAD leaders will continue doing sewa till the bhog ceremony of ‘Akhand Path’ on Monday.
SUKHBIR’S FLOWING BEARD LOOK
In a rare sight, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal appeared in flowing beard during the ardas. Also, his brother-in-law and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia was also in the same look. A picture in which Sukhbir is seen cleaning sports shoes with a brush used for polishing leather shoes went viral on the social media with people taking jibes at him.