Nanded Attack: Rajnath Singh Dials Sukhbir Badal, Calls Ideological Violence ‘Reprehensible’

A visit to a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded turned violent for Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday when a man allegedly attacked him with a dagger, injuring the former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and a police officer who intervened to protect him.

Badal suffered a wound of around four to five centimetres on his right forearm. Police Inspector Santosh Kele of the Special Protection Unit was injured on his hand while trying to stop the attacker. Both men are stable and out of danger.

The alleged attacker has been taken into custody and further legal action is underway, Nanded Police said. The incident drew reactions from the highest levels of government, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking to Badal over the phone and condemning political violence. “The news of the attack on Punjab's former Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal is extremely disturbing,” Singh said. “In a democracy, any kind of violence due to ideological differences is reprehensible from every perspective.”

What happened at the Nanded gurdwara?

According to police, the attack occurred at around 1:50 pm at Gurudwara Mata Sahib Devaji in Mugat village of Mudkhed taluka. Badal had completed darshan and was coming down the steps when a Sikh sewadar allegedly attacked him with a dagger. Kele, who was accompanying Badal as part of his security detail, stepped in and was also injured. Badal and the officer were taken to Yashosai Hospital in Nanded for treatment. District Collector Rahul Kardele described Badal's injury as minor and said both men were out of danger.

Was there a security lapse?

That question is already gathering political heat. Badal has Z-plus security, and although Kardele said his trip to Nanded was private and the Collector's office had received no official intimation, he confirmed that the SAD chief had been provided full police protection. SAD national vice-president Sanjeev Talwar nevertheless questioned how an attacker managed to get close enough to Badal to strike him. “Such an attack on someone who has Z+ security and is a former Deputy CM will certainly be considered a security lapse,” Talwar said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry and sought details from the Nanded Superintendent of Police. Fadnavis also spoke to Badal, who is learnt to have told him that he was stable. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Badal's wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to enquire about his condition, according to sources.

Badal has been attacked before

Thursday's assault carries an unsettling echo. In December 2024, Badal survived an attempted shooting while performing seva at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The alleged attacker, Narain Singh Chaura, attempted to fire at him but was overpowered before he could cause serious harm. Badal was performing seva after the Akal Takht declared him a tankhaiya, or guilty of religious misconduct, over decisions and actions taken by the SAD-led Punjab government between 2007 and 2017.

That attack, too, triggered questions about Badal's security. Now, less than two years later, another attacker has managed to get within striking distance of one of Punjab's most prominent political leaders.

For the SAD, the Nanded attack goes beyond Badal himself. Talwar described him as a proponent of Hindu-Sikh unity and Punjabiyat, calling the assault “an attack on the unity and integrity of Punjab.” For investigators, however, the immediate questions are more concrete: who attacked Badal, why, and how did a man carrying a dagger get close enough to someone with Z-plus security to injure him??

(With inputs from ANI)