After the Akal Takht on Friday declared Sukhbir Singh Badal 'tankhaiya' -- guilty of religious misconduct -- some leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as well as rebel Akalis called for the Shiromani Akali Dal chief to step down.
Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang, both of whom are senior spokespersons of the AAP in Punjab, said Badal should resign.
Akali rebels Prem Singh Chandumajra and Charanjit Singh Brar also said that keeping in view the Akal Takht's order, Badal should step down.
Soon after the Akal Takht declared the SAD president 'tankhaiya' for 'mistakes' committed by his party and the party's government from 2007 to 2017, Badal said he bowed his head and accepted the order.
In a post on X in Punjabi, Badal said he would soon appear before the Akal Takht to apologise.
Badal had recently appointed senior leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar as the party's working president.
Welcoming the Akal Takht decision, Kang said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had been saying from day one that the SAD under Badal committed not just mistakes but sins.
Badal should resign as SAD president on moral grounds, the AAP leader said.
Meanwhile, senior SAD leader Daljit Cheema said Sukhbir Badal had earlier also said that he would abide by the directions of the Akal Takht.
After a meeting of the five Sikh head priests in Amritsar, the 'jathedar' of the Akal Takht Gyani Raghbir Singh asked Badal to appear before the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs within 15 days to seek an apology for the decisions he took as the deputy chief minister and as SAD chief that deeply harmed the image of the 'Panth' and caused damage to Sikh interests.
The members of the Sikh community, who served as ministers in the Akali government from 2007-17, were also directed to appear at the Akal Takht in person to submit their written explanation in 15 days, he said.
The Takht 'jathedar' did not give details of the 'mistakes' committed by Badal.
But incidents related to the theft of a 'bir (copy)' of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari had taken place in Faridkot in 2015 when the Shiromani Akali Dal was in power.
Badal has sought 'unconditional forgiveness' for 'all mistakes' committed when the SAD was in power in Punjab.
He had recently submitted his explanation after the 'jathedar' asked him to appear in person before the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, following allegations levelled by the party's rebel leaders who have asked him to step down.
In his letter earlier, Badal had said he was a 'humble servant' of the Guru and dedicated to the Guru Granth Sahib and the Akal Takht.
