Dal Khalsa rejects Akal Takht decision to pardon Dera chief

Radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa and SAD (Panch Pardani) have rejected the decision of Akal Takht to pardon Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for his alleged blasphemous act in 2007 and organised a bandh which failed to evoke response in Punjab.

Members of both the organisations also staged a silent sit-in at Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs, to lodge their protest against the Sikh body’s decision to pardon the Sirsa-based Dera head. After praying at Akal Takht, the activists converged near the Takht Secretariat office and stood there in protest by holding placards to convey their message. They alleged that the ruling Akali Dal was behind the decision leading to the pardoning of the Dera head. Some placards carried by members read “Supreme is Akal Takhat, Not Jathedar”. Another one read “Akali politics corrupting religious institutions” and “SGPC is in wrong hands”.