Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday launched a sharp counterattack against those calling the recent assault on SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal “stage-managed”, saying he had received 150 stitches.
She described both as part of what she called a deep-rooted conspiracy to eliminate the SAD president and weaken the party. Pointing towards Sukhbir Badal’s injured arm, she said more than 150 stitches had been required to close the wound from both sides and from the inside. Harsimrat Badal said the latest attack in Nanded and the December 4, 2024 attack on Sukhbir Badal at Sri Darbar Sahib could not be treated as isolated incidents.
Addressing the mammoth gathering during the second phase of the SAD’s Punjab Bachao campaign in Guruharsahai, Harsimrat Badal said she did not want to display the graphic photographs but was compelled to show them to underline the seriousness of the attack. “I don’t want to show these pictures,” she said, before displaying the images on a tablet at the rally. “This dagger had a sharpened tip and went through the flesh,” she said, questioning how anyone could dismiss the attack as stage-managed after seeing the extent of the injuries. Harsimrat Badal said she had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding that the National Investigation Agency investigate both attacks and examine all possible angles, including alleged links between the accused, political actors, police officials and other forces behind the incidents. Calling it a cowardly act, she said such violence could not be carried out by a true Sikh at a place of worship. She said an NIA investigation was necessary to establish who was behind the attacks and whether anyone had sponsored or facilitated them.
