In a dramatic turn of events that has further intensified Punjab’s political tensions, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was taken into custody by Punjab Police on Tuesday while on his way to pay obeisance at the sacred Gurdwara Sri Amb Sahib in Mohali. The arrest, which unfolded in full public view and has now gone viral through video clips circulating on social media, quickly turned into a potent symbol of resistance for the Akali Dal and has reignited conversations about political overreach and suppression of dissent under the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government.
Eyewitnesses and Akali leaders described the moment with vivid intensity. As Sukhbir Badal walked peacefully toward the gurdwara premises, security personnel intercepted him without formal warning or public clarification. In the widely shared footage, Badal is seen confronting a senior police officer in a composed but sharp tone. “Why are you stopping me? This is a gurdwara, even during the Emergency no one was barred here. Has Kejriwal declared his own version of Emergency? Who has issued these orders—tell me?” His voice, calm yet unyielding, reflected both disbelief and a deep sense of defiance. For a moment, even the officer appeared visibly hesitant, caught between the weight of his orders and the moral tension of the place they stood in—at the gate of a revered Sikh religious site.
Moments later, Sukhbir Badal voluntarily submitted himself to the police, stating firmly, “I welcome my arrest.” For his supporters and party workers gathered nearby, the moment marked more than just a physical confrontation. It became emblematic of what the Akali leadership claims is an unfolding pattern of political vendetta disguised as law enforcement.
Soon after the arrest, Sukhbir Badal released a powerful message on social media that shook Punjab’s political circles and reverberated nationally. He directly accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal—whom he referred to as the “real communal ruler of Punjab”—of orchestrating a dictatorship from behind the scenes through what he called a “non-Punjabi gang” controlling the state government. Badal likened the situation to India’s darkest democratic period, calling it “a shadow of the Emergency,” while declaring that he would not bow before such intimidation. He warned the government that peaceful Akali activists were being unlawfully detained across the state, labelling it a broad daylight assault on democracy, civil rights, and human dignity.
The arrest came in the backdrop of the recent custodial remand of senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate-assets case. The Akali Dal has consistently argued that these cases are politically motivated, aimed at weakening the opposition before the 2027 assembly elections. With Sukhbir Badal’s detention now added to the mix, the battlelines are sharply drawn. Senior SAD leaders have accused the Bhagwant Mann government of acting as a proxy for Kejriwal’s Delhi regime, weaponising state agencies to paralyse opposition mobilisation.
For observers of Punjab politics, the moment is being viewed through a larger historical lens. The symbolism of arresting a senior Sikh leader en route to a gurdwara is not lost in a state where religious reverence and political identity are deeply intertwined. The decision to intercept him at a site of spiritual sanctity has invited widespread backlash from Sikh organizations, civil rights activists, and even some neutral political commentators who see it as a gross miscalculation in optics and sensitivity.
The Mann government, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped, offering no immediate justification for the timing or nature of the arrest. Sources within the administration suggest that preventive action was taken to avoid any untoward incident or unlawful assembly, as SAD workers were allegedly planning an unapproved public gathering. Yet, in the court of public perception, especially in rural and religiously active belts of Punjab, the arrest has provided a rallying point for an opposition that has recently been on the defensive.
As night fell across Punjab, visuals of protests by SAD supporters, blocked roads, and mass detentions of Akali workers emerged from various districts. Sukhbir Singh Badal’s challenge to Kejriwal and his declaration of a battle to the “last breath” against “loot and dictatorship” is expected to set the tone for an intensified phase of agitation, not only on the streets but in the courtrooms and perhaps even Parliament.
Whether this arrest will ultimately weaken the Akali Dal or rejuvenate its image as a persecuted voice of Punjab’s Sikh identity and federal aspirations remains to be seen. But what is certain is that today’s events have added fuel to a political narrative that may define the next phase of Punjab’s contentious democracy.
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