Amritsar, June 28 -- Undecided on appearing before Akal Takht over the recently enacted, contentious anti-sacrilege law, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, 78 Sikh Aam Aadmi Party MLAs summoned by the highest temporal seat will meet here on Sunday. The meeting, held in the presence of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and chief minister Bhagwant Mann, aims to discuss the situation and reach a collective decision. The legislators have been directed to appear at the Takht on Monday by acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj to offer clarifications on thelegislation. This development comes amid an intensifying standoff between the highest Sikh temporal seat and the Bhagwant Mann-led state government. While many AAP MLAs personally feel they should obey the religious decree, they have yet to receive any clear signal from the party leadership, leaving all eyes on the impending directive from the top brass. Many of these legislators are currently reluctant to speak publicly on the issue. When contacted, some MLAs abruptly disconnected phone calls when asked if they would appear before the Takht. However, a few shared their personal feelings on condition of anonymity. A two-time AAP MLA, requesting that his name not be disclosed, said, "Personally, being a Sikh, I favour appearing at Akal Takht Sahib which is highly respected for us. There is no harm in going to the Akal Takht Sahib to present our side. All Sikh MLAs should go to the highest Sikh temporal seat." Since Kejriwal is on a three-day Punjab tour from June 27-29, starting from Amritsar, he has called all legislators for this crucial meeting in the holy city alongside CM Bhagwant Mann to analyse the situation. Local party observers have already collected copies of the Akal Takht letters sent to the MLAs. Since a significant section of the legislators reportedly leans toward appearing before the Takht, the final decision is expected to closely weigh their religious sentiments against the party's political strategy. Meanwhile, a Dalit Sikh MLA, who does not use 'Singh' in his name, mentioned that he did not receive any communication, as the secretariat has primarily despatched directives to the 78 Sikh MLAs who constitute the majority in the state assembly. The sweeping summonses were issued because, on May 8, the Akal Takht formally rejected the anti-sacrilege law-which mandates a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment for desecrating the holy scripture-demanding the removal of clauses that centralise control of printing and custodianship under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which the clergy claims "hurt Sikh sentiments and interfere in Panthic affairs." The situation escalated after the Sikh clergy, led by Giani Gargaj, issued a formal decree on June 15 calling upon the Sikh community to socially ostracise Mann over an objectionable viral video involving photographs of Sikh Gurus. The Takht subsequently declared Mann "Guru Dokhi (Guru's adversary)" and "Khalsa Panth Virodhi (anti-community)" after a forensic report commissioned by the Sikh body deemed the footage authentic. The AAP, however, questioned the legitimacy of the video, with Mann labelling it "fake", and later claiming an imposter in a mask was used in a "political conspiracy to defame him." In contrast to the ruling party's hesitation, Sikh MLAs from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress have already publicly announced that they will unconditionally abide by the decree of the highest temporal seat. Earlier, when initially summoned over the legislative dispute, Punjab assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhawan had appeared before the Takht, through whom the jathedar conveyed the specific objections regarding the law to the state government. However, the CM refused to address those objections, and this persistent non-response from the government ultimately prompted the jathedar to summon the individual Sikh legislators directly....