New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- A day after being attacked with a dagger at a gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said that the attack was done to "destabilise" Punjab and India, vowing that his party would not allow these "anti-national" forces to succeed.

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 ...