Akal Takht begins membership drive for SAD in Amritsar

A panel appointed by the Akal Takht is starting a membership drive for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today in Amritsar. The drive begins after a ceremonial prayer outside the Golden Temple. Initially, the committee had seven members, but two, including SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, have resigned. Now, five members will lead the effort. Gurpartap Singh Wadala, a committee member, said they would invite people to join the party. However, there are concerns from within SAD. Party vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema raised questions about the committee's legitimacy and the membership forms they printed, which mention a party name not registered with the Election Commission of India. He expressed worries about where any collected funds would go. Wadala responded that the membership drive follows the Akal Takht’s December 2 directive. He said the committee is prepared to act independently if SAD does not support them. Meanwhile, SAD has extended the membership drive deadline to March 25. After this, they plan to elect district unit presidents and other leaders. SAD working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar called for unity among members and invited estranged leaders to return to the party. He urged the five-member committee to follow the Akal Takht's instructions and support SAD's membership drive. Additionally, Bhundar announced that SAD will participate in an all-party meeting in Chennai on March 22. The meeting will discuss concerns about the delimitation exercise and its impact on federalism. He also shared that the Akali delegation would address issues related to a new education policy affecting regional languages.