Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab to wash dishes as a form of penance (religious punishment) on Tuesday.
This was pronounced to him by Sri Akal Takht Sahib on Monday. According to ANI, penance also includes performing duties as a ‘sewadar’. He would clean utensils and shoes at the Golden Temple. Akal Takht issued the punishments for him citing the 'mistakes' committed by SAD and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
Similarly, former Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal was seen at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab on Tuesday morning to begin his first day of penance. Holding a spear in one hand, Badal, in blue 'sewadar' clothes, was seated in a wheelchair due to his fractured leg, he was seen wearing a plaque around his neck.
This follows his declaration as a 'tankhah' (religious punishment) in August by the Akal Takht, which imposed religious punishment on him. Sukhbir Singh Badal, who served as Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister from 2007 to 2017, has to perform sewadar duties at the Golden Temple, including washing utensils, cleaning shoes, and maintaining bathrooms.
Before the pronouncement of the edict, Sukhbir Badal admitted his mistakes, including pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case during the SAD's rule in Punjab.
Pronouncing the 'tankhah' (religious punishment), the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht, said Sukhbir Singh Badal will clean bathrooms from 12:00 to 1:00 PM on December 3. He was asked to wear a plaque around his neck.