Amritsar, Oct 15 (PTI) The Akal Takht jathedar has directed the Shiromani Akali Dal to expel Virsa Singh Valtoha from the party, finding him guilty of character assassination of the Sikh clergy.

Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had summoned senior SAD leader Valtoha and taken action against him during an emergency meeting headed by him.

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Valtoha was summoned to appear on Monday and was directed to produce proof to back his allegation that the jathedars are under pressure of the BJP-RSS and some others in matters pertaining to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Valtoha had reportedly questioned the delay by the Sikh clergy in announcing the 'tankhah' (religious punishment) to the SAD chief.

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On August 30, the Akal Takht had declared Sukhbir as 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) for the "mistakes" committed by his party's government from 2007 to 2017.

On Monday, the jathedar of the Akal Takht, which is the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, directed SAD's working president Balwinder Singh Bhunder through an edict to expel Valthoa from the party within 24 hours and terminate his membership for 10 years.

Valtoha submitted his written clarification and an apology by appearing in person but the Sikh clergy, which also included Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, found Valtoha guilty of character assassination of the Sikh clergy.

"... However, his statement has damaged the respect and 'maryada' of the Akal Takht," read the edict.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)