SAD leaders including Badals perform 'sewa' for second day

SAD leaders including former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, party chief Sukhbir Badal, his wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal performed 'sewa' for the second day on Sunday at the Golden Temple complex here.

Shiromani Akali Dal leadership led by party patron Parkash Singh Badal had offered prayers Saturday at Akal Takht here, the supreme temporal body of Sikhs, to seek atonement for any mistake it committed "inadvertently" in the past.

On the second day too, the SAD leaders that also included Bikram Singh Majithia and Bibi Jagir Kaur performed 'sewa' during which they cleaned shoes of the devotees visiting the Golden temple.

The SAD leaders also washed utensils at the Golden Temple's community kitchen.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had ridiculed the opposition party for indulging in "political theatrics" in the name of religion with their "farcical" display of regret over the "misdeeds" committed during their 10-years of misrule.

The SAD had faced severe criticism over some incidents pertaining to desecration of the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib and police firing incidents in 2015 that had taken place during the SAD-BJP regime.

The party was also eye of storm over the issue of granting pardon to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case, which was later withdrawn by Akal Takht.

In the core committee meeting held in Chandigarh on Thursday, the SAD had decided to seek forgiveness from Akal Takht for "any inadvertent mistake" committed during the 10-year regime of the SAD-BJP.