Phagwara: Mounting his attack on SAD and its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s family, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday blamed late CM Parkash Singh Badal for the 1978 Nirankari-Sikh clash, accusing him of facilitating the escape of the culprits and pushing Punjab into turmoil.Targeting the Badal family three days after the Akal Takht declared him a ‘Guru Dokhi’ (anti-Guru) and ‘Panth Virodhi’ (anti-Panth), Mann said the day was not far when the Akalis would be behind bars for “their sins”.“When unarmed Sikhs were killed in 1978, Badal Sahib facilitated the escape of the culprits in his vehicle and assured them nothing would happen. Punjab was put on fire, two communities were pitted against each other, and Punjab suffered a lot and then he became CM,” Mann said at a Lok Milni in Phagwara on Thursday evening.This was Mann’s third public meeting after the Akal Takht decree. His speech made it apparent that he was taking on the SAD on the Panthic turf, blaming its leaders for anti-Sikh activities and the 2015 sacrilege incidents. He said despite all this, the Akal Takht had conferred the title of ‘Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum’ on the late Parkash Singh Badal. The Sikh temporal seat withdrew the honour on Dec 2, 2024.
