A man on Wednesday opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Badal escaped unhurt as the bullet hit the wall. The attacker, who fired at the former Punjab deputy CM while he was seated at the temple entrance, was overpowered by bystanders before causing harm. The attacker was immediately taken into custody by the police.
The motive behind the attack is yet to be known. Sixty-two-year-old Badal is performing ‘sewadar’ duties after the Akal Takht (The Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority in Sikhism) pronounced the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for him and several other Akali Dal leaders for “mistakes” committed during the Akali regime in the state from 2007 to 2017. Which the clergy believes undermined not only undermined Sikh faith but also damaged the SAD’s standing as a panthic (Sikh-centered) political party.
Badal’s duties as a sewadar include washing dishes, cleaning shoes at Golden Temple and several other gurdwaras.
Over the past two days, Badal has been sitting at the gate of Golden Temple dressed in blue sewadar uniform with a spear in one hand. Badal’s leg is in a cast, and he is in a wheelchair.
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