Chandigarh, Aug 26 — Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday said the same forces that destroyed Punjab’s peace in the 1980s had become active again in the guise of devout Sikhs, even as he declared he was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard the party’s core policy of ensuring peace and communal harmony.
Launching the second phase of the party’s Punjab Bachao campaign at a public meeting in Malout, Badal alleged that “the forces who assassinated Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Bhai Shaminder Singh and who attacked Gurcharan Singh Tohra have become active again.”
He gave a clarion call to save Punjab from these elements, urging people to unite against those who had taken on new identities. “If we do not do this, they will do to you what they have done to me. They will loot your houses and our Gurughar. They will usher in ‘gunda raj’ and destroy the state,” he said.
Badal claimed the aim was to finish off Punjab’s only regional party, SAD, alleging that these persons were stooges of agencies and Delhi‑based parties. He also took on critics of the Badal family, saying divisive elements were angry because SAD was preventing them from disturbing peace and capturing religious donations.
He attacked jailed MP Amritpal Singh, asserting he wanted to take Punjab back to the 1980s when no one was safe. Badal questioned how someone who returned from Dubai as a clean‑shaven youth could reinvent himself as Punjab’s “heir.” He accused Amritpal of ignoring Sikh rehat maryada, citing his use of Guru Granth Sahib as a shield during a protest march, and questioned his credibility given his brother’s alleged drug addiction.
Badal also criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alleging he visited the Bargari dharna site and Damdama Sahib while drunk. He said Mann had passed an anti‑sacrilege law against Sikh maryada but was not challenged by other parties. “This shows all these elements are ganging up against SAD but have nothing to say against Bhagwant Mann or even the Congress party which attacked Sri Darbar Sahib,” Badal added.