Amarinder accuses Badals of abusing ' Akal Takht for 'political gains'

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday accused the Badals of playing with religious sentiments of the Sikhs by abusing the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, to promote their vested interests.

"Such politicisation of religion will backfire on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)," the chief minister said while addressing a public rally here.

"Anyone who tries to use the Akal Takht is not a Sikh in my eyes," Amarinder said.

He condemned the "outrageous" attempts of the Badals (Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal) to undermine the supreme power of the Takht.

"The Akalis claim to be the custodians of Sikh religion but have always used it to promote their political interests," he alleged.

Pointing out that even Maharaja Ranjit Singh had bowed before the Akal Takht and served his punishment before it, Amarinder Sigh said the Badals, on the other hand, had "lowered" the prestige of the Takht "by unabashedly summoning and dictating terms to the Jathedar to promote their political interests".

By undermining the esteem of the Takht, the Akalis, led by the Badals, had brought "ignominy" to the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, he said, lamenting "Where is Sikhi (Sikhism) going?"