"Anti-national elements wanted to destabilise Punjab and India": Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal after dagger attack

Speaking to reporters on his arrival at Delhi airport, Badal said, "Anti-national and anti-Punjab elements wanted to destabilise the state of Punjab and India. Akali Dal will not let this happen. Like my father, we always fought these elements. And we will also fight them."

Badal suffered a wound of around five centimetres on his right forearm after the dagger at a gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded on Thursday, District Collector Rahul Kardele said. A Special Protection Unit police officer accompanying him was also injured while attempting to protect him. Both Badal and the police officer are stable and out of danger, District Collector said. The alleged attacker was taken into police custody and further legal action is underway, police said.

The accused was identified as Jaspal Singh, and Nanded Superintendent of Police Nilabh Rohan said he was approximately 60-62 years old and had been working as a sevadar at the gurdwara for around two years.

Speaking to reporters after being discharged from the hospital earlier today, Badal had described the attack as part of a "larger conspiracy" aimed at seizing control of the political situation in Punjab ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

"Their mission is to take control of the situation in Punjab and disturb the peace, which, as President of Akali Dal, I will never allow. Both times they attacked me in the holiest places," he had said, referring to an earlier attempt on his life at Golden Temple in Amritsar in December 2024, when he was targeted in an attempted shooting.

Asserting that he remained undeterred, Badal said, "I have never been scared, nor am I afraid now. Shiromani Akali Dal is committed to the brotherhood and pride of Punjab. Shiromani Akali Dal can make any sacrifice, but Punjab's progress and communal and religious harmony are our top priority." (ANI)