"I seek forgiveness for the heinous act of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib": Sukhbir Singh Badal apologises for 2015 sacrilege incidents

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], December 15 : The president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday publicly expressed his regret for the failure to apprehend the individuals responsible for the sacrilege incidents in 2015. Badal was speaking at the 103rd Foundation Day of Akali Dal on Thursday.
"Submitting myself to the Guru's will in the precinct of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the highest religio-temporal seat of the Sikh quom, I sincerely and unconditionally seek forgiveness of the Khalsa Panth that the heinous act of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji happened during the Akali government. I also apologise that we couldn't apprehend and punish the culprits during the brief remaining part of our tenure," Badal said.
Badal said this while addressing a gathering at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh in Amritsar on the 103rd foundation day of the Akali Dal on Thursday.
Badal further expressed deep regret over the inability to counteract the alleged conspiracies of certain 'Panthic' individuals and organisations, leading to the transfer of investigations to the CBI.
Further, he described these incidents as the most distressing in his life and that of his late father and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's life.
"I am very sad that we couldn't understand and defeat the conspiracies of some so called Panthic individuals and organisations and allowed them to compel us to hand over the probe to the CBI. These incidents remain the most painful events in my life and the life of Sardar Parkash Singh Ji Badal," Badal said.
"Today, I promise that we will put the real criminals in jail and expose to the public those who have politicised the issue of profanity. This is our commitment to justice and transparency," the Shiromani Akali Dal chief added.
Reacting to the apology offered by Sukhbir Badal, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that Sukbir Badal should have apologised while he was in Power.
"Apologising is a great humane act and is held in high regard in Sikhism...The pain that Sukhbir expressed after stepping out of power, had he shown the same pain and sentiments when he was in power it would have been better. Nothing happened without his command, when he was a partner of the Central Government - neither Punjab nor Panth would have had to suffer..." the Assembly speaker said.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann offered a terse reaction when he was asked about Badal's apology saying " Maafi galtia di hundi hai, gunaha di nahi--Apologies are for mistakes not for crimes".
The incidents of sacrilege occurred between June and October 2015 following the theft of the sacred Guru Granth Sahib from a Gurudwara in Burj Jawaharsinghwala, Faridkot, and the discovery of torn pages from the Holy Book in Bargari, Faridkot.
The incident caused widespread discontent and outrage among members of the Sikh community.