With then Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal who was the deputy CM finding no mention in the investigation report into three cases relating to the 2015 Bargari sacrilege cases, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday demanded the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to tender an apology over their “outrageous lies” over the issue of sacrilege.

Addressing a Press conference, senior Akali leaders Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Harcharan Singh Bains, and Harish Rai Dhanda said three governments, four vengeful Chief Ministers, three SITs (special investigation teams), and several self-styled religious bodies and personalities as well as political leaders such as Captain Amarinder Singh, Charanjit Singh Channi (former CMs in Congress governments), Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, former home minister Sukhjinder Randhawa, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, etc worked on the anti-Sikh conspiracy day and night but the SIT report has exposed their falsehood and vindicated the truth.

“The pain endured by the tallest Panthic leader Parkash Singh Badal and by Sukhbir Singh Badal, the entire SAD leadership, office bearers, workers, and the devoted Sikh masses is beyond the power of language to express. The evil anti-Panth conspirators seemed to have their way for some time and they made every Sikh suspect every other Sikh. But we always had faith in the ultimate justice of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Finally, Truth has triumphed,” said the SAD leaders.

The SAD said the SIT report on the sacrilege has “completely exposed the lies and vicious propaganda of AAP, Congress and of other anti-Panthic and self-styled and self-appointed organisations and personalities who were out to tarnish the image of Sikh leaders including Parkash Singh Badal.
The aim behind this conspiracy was to render the Khalsa Panth leaderless and to divide the Sikhs against one another in order to start a civil war in the quom (community), said the Akali leaders.

Replying to a query, Grewal said the party is examining the option of legal action against those who played politics in the 2015 sacrilege incidents and blamed SAD leadership for this heinous crime without any evidence. The party will take opinions from the legal experts to bring these leaders including sitting and former CMs to book, he said.

The SIT report has accused Dera Sacha Sauda followers, including its head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, of the sacrilege. The 467-page report has no mention of then Punjab CM Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal.