Nanded (Maharashtra), Aug 14 — A day after Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked by a man dressed as a Nihang in Maharashtra's Nanded, he alleged that the "mission" of the attack was to "disturb peace in Punjab", which he would "never allow".
"Their mission is to take control of the situation in Punjab and disturb peace, which, as President of Akali Dal, I will never allow," the SAD chief told reporters after his discharge from a hospital following a surgery on his right hand, which was injured in the attack.
The former Punjab President added: "Neither my father allowed it. Both times, they attacked me in the holiest places -- first in the Golden Temple, and second at Takht Hazur Sahib."
In 2024, an attempt to assassinate Badal was made while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Badal further said: "I have always said that no one can harm those who are protected by the almighty...I thank Guru Gobind Singh ji on whose land I had arrived. The enemies of the country and of Punjab tried (to attack me), but I have been saved by Guru Gobind Singh ji."
"I am not afraid, neither have I ever been so. I only want to state that Shiromani Akali Dal can make all kinds of sacrifice, but we are committed to communal harmony and brotherhood in Punjab," he asserted.
The person who attacked the Akali Dal chief with a Kirpan at Mata Sahib Gurdwara premises in the Hazur Sahib area of Nanded was taken into custody soon after the incident.
Visuals showed Sukhbir Singh Badal walking inside a hospital building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
Several political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had called the SAD chief's wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal to enquire about his health, following the attack on him.
Meanwhile, SAD Vice President and Member of Punjab Core Committee Sanjeev Talwar on Thursday referred to the attack on Badal as "direct attack on Sikhism".
"Sukhbir Singh Badal wants to again raise the slogan of Hindu-Sikh unity in Punjab. I feel this could be a conspiracy by those who want to take Punjab back to 1984," Talwar told IANS.
SAD's chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler had also blamed "anti-Sikh forces" for repeated attempts to attack the party chief.