Badungar Resigns from Akal Takht Panel as Tensions Rise with SAD
In a significant development, former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar resigned from the seven-member committee formed by Akal Takht to oversee the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) membership drive and election of office-bearers. His resignation comes just hours before a crucial meeting of the committee, deepening the ongoing confrontation between the SAD and Akal Takht regarding the handling of the membership process and subsequent elections.
Badungar's decision to step down followed the resignation of HS Dhami, who had quit both his position as committee chairperson and as the president of the SGPC. Despite the high-profile resignations, the remaining five committee members proceeded with the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours at the Panth Ratan Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra Institute of Advanced Studies in Sikhism, located in Bahadurgarh. The members present included Gurpartap Singh Wadala, convener of the defunct Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar; Manpreet Singh Ayali, SAD MLA from Dakha; Santa Singh Umaidpur, head of the Jhoondan committee; Iqbal Singh Jhundan, head of the 2022 committee suggesting a change in SAD leadership; and Satwant Kaur.
Following the meeting, Wadala told The Tribune that the members had decided to seek further guidance from Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh. “We were entrusted with overseeing the SAD membership drive and elections, but there was no cooperation from the Akali leadership. We will submit our report to the Akal Takht Jathedar and seek further directions on what steps to take next,” he said. Ayali added that the SAD had gone ahead with its membership drive without consulting the committee members. “For us, the Akal Takht is the highest authority. We have decided to visit the Akal Takht and follow its guidance,” he said.
Jhundan, another committee member, indicated that they would highlight the names of individuals who failed to cooperate with the committee when they meet with the Akal Takht.
Badungar, a long-time loyalist of the Badal family, released a video announcing his resignation, stating that the committee had become "irrelevant" after Dhami’s resignation. He criticized the committee's lack of progress, pointing out that it had met twice without achieving any tangible outcomes.
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