Chandigarh: Within the Punjab ballot season, the Akali Dal seems to be batting on the entrance foot on the sacrilege challenge. Occasion MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has as soon as once more publicly apologised for the beadbi (sacrilege) incidents in the course of the earlier SAD-BJP authorities, whereas concurrently taking goals on the Aam Aadmi Occasion and Congress on the difficulty.
“Sadly, one incident of beadbi occurred throughout our tenure and we’re very sorry for it,” Harsimrat Kaur mentioned, whereas asserting that the Akalis had vowed to not relaxation till the perpetrators have been punished. She was addressing a political convention in Sangrur to mark the demise anniversary of Akali Dal stalwart Sant Harchand Singh Longowal.
However her apology got here with a political counterattack: what concerning the 600-plus incidents of beadbi over the past decade, she requested, and what occurred to the guarantees made by AAP of delivering justice in ‘sacrilege’ instances inside 4 months?
Sadly, one incident of Beadbi occurred throughout our tenure and we’re very sorry for it. We now have vowed that till we punish the perpetrators, we is not going to relaxation. However what concerning the Aam Aadmi Occasion and the Congress that politicised this delicate challenge. What concerning the 600+… pic.twitter.com/VcqcDkKfD5
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) August 20, 2026
The transfer is important as a result of ‘sacrilege’ was one of many largest political wounds for the Akalis. The problem contributed closely to their rout within the 2017 Meeting elections. Extra importantly, when the Badal authorities was in energy and the sacrilege controversy erupted, the Akalis confronted intense public anger and sustained protests throughout Punjab. For months, the social gathering management struggled to carry public conferences because the political backlash grew to become a defining function of the disaster.
The distinction with the Bhagwant Mann authorities right this moment is placing. Regardless of the persevering with controversy round ‘sacrilege’ and the video case involving the chief minister, Bhagwant Mann continues to carry public conferences and political programmes. There was no comparable wave of public outrage in opposition to the federal government. Even the Haryana Police has thus far made no seen breakthrough within the video case involving Mann.
That distinction may very well be central to the Akalis’ new technique. As an alternative of remaining completely defensive over the ‘sacrilege’ challenge, Harsimrat Kaur is making an attempt to show the query round: if the Akalis are anticipated to reply for what occurred throughout their tenure, why ought to AAP and Congress not be held accountable for what has occurred below their watch?
For the Akalis, it is a calculated try and reclaim a problem that has harm the social gathering’s political fortunes. The social gathering misplaced energy in 2017 and did not get better in 2022. However with 2027 approaching, Harsimrat Kaur’s renewed apology means that the Akalis consider the political dialog could now be shifted from their previous document to the efficiency and guarantees of successive governments.
The bigger query is whether or not Punjab’s voters will purchase the argument. ‘Sacrilege’ stays an intensely emotional challenge, and the Akalis proceed to hold the political baggage of the incidents that occurred throughout their rule. However by apologising once more and placing AAP’s document below the scanner, the social gathering is clearly betting that voters could now be keen to guage all governments by the identical yardstick.
The Badals as soon as paid an enormous political value when ‘sacrilege’ triggered unprecedented public anger. Mann, at the least for now, has not confronted something near that scale of backlash. That’s the political house the Akalis are attempting to take advantage of. Whether or not Harsimrat Kaur’s apology and counterattack can flip an outdated legal responsibility right into a recent electoral weapon stays the large query.
