AMRITSAR: To mark the 103rd foundation day of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on December 14, senior leadership of the party led by its president Sukhbir Singh Badal initiated the akhand path at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Gurbaksh Singh at Akal Takht on Tuesday.
Sukhbir along with other leaders also performed "jora sewa" by cleaning the shoes of devotees besides washing utensils at the "langar" hall. The leaders also swept the "parikrama" of Golden Temple on the occasion besides listening to "kirtan" in the evening.
SAD was formed on December 14, 1920 at Akal Takht and Surmukh Singh Jhabbal was its first president.
Later talking to the media persons, Sukhbir said that the entire rank and file of the party as well as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) would engage in religious service at Golden Temple for the next two days to mark the 103rd anniversary of the party which would culminate with the "bhog" of akhand path followed by "kirtan" and "ardas" on December 14.
Asserting that he was overwhelmed by the response of the party rank and file towards the programme, the SAD president said: "The SAD prides itself at being the 'fauj' of the Khalsa Panth and was specifically established to safeguard the interests of the 'panth". He said the party had steadfastly performed this duty assiduously for the last 103 years and would continue to do so in the future also.
"We will continue to serve the ‘quom, Punjab and Punjabis and stand up against repression in all its forms”, he added.
