Will Punjab Enact a Law on Sacrilege?

Chandigarh, July 5 (NationPress) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration in Punjab plans to hold a special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly next week to legislate a law addressing sacrilege, a highly sensitive issue that consistently ignites political debates ahead of elections.

A spokesperson for the government announced that the law against sacrilege will be introduced during the Vidhan Sabha's special session slated for July 10-11, aiming to avert any future occurrences of such incidents.

“There has been a long-standing demand for implementing a law against sacrilege in Punjab. The Mann government is committed to meeting the people's demand,” the spokesperson stated.

The incident of sacrilege involving Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which drew nationwide outrage, occurred in Behbal Kalan village of Faridkot district in 2015, leading to police firing on demonstrators that resulted in two fatalities. The Congress party leveraged this incident against the SAD-BJP coalition during the 2017 assembly elections.

Even during the 2022 elections, which saw the current state administration rise to power, such incidents continued to challenge the political landscape, with successive governments facing criticism for their inability to deliver justice.

In the lead-up to the previous assembly elections, Justice Ranjit Singh (retd), who led the commission investigating the alleged sacrilege incidents and the ensuing police firing, implicated former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch, and then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini.

He also condemned the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, whose leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two followers and a life sentence for the murder of a journalist, regarding the sacrilege incident.

Justice Singh made these remarks during the launch of his 423-page book, ‘The Sacrilege’, which is based on his inquiry while heading the commission established by the current Congress government.

The judicial commission was tasked with investigating nearly 160 sacrilege cases. In response to the government's decision to enact a law on sacrilege, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticized statements made by Akali leaders regarding the special assembly session.

The party accused the Akalis of feigning concern and highlighted that, for the first time, a stringent law against sacrilege is being introduced in Punjab under AAP governance.

AAP leader Baltej Pannu remarked that the Akali Dal (Badal) is now anxious upon hearing about the stringent law concerning sacrilege.

He asserted that every Punjabi is aware of how these individuals betrayed the populace regarding the sacrilege issue and mocked the investigation, adding that the Akalis dismissed the report from the committee formed under former Justice Zora Singh.

Moreover, they allegedly sold the Justice Ranjit Singh Committee report for profit outside the assembly.

“All of Punjab knows how these individuals exploited sacrilege incidents for political gain and interfered with the investigation. If they genuinely intended to formulate a law, they could have done so before 2017,” he stated.

Referring to the sacrilege incident in Nakodar in 1986, he noted that four protestors were killed by the police during that time.

Later, when a government led by Parkash Singh Badal was established, they promoted the police officers responsible for the crime and assigned them to high-ranking positions. The findings of that investigation were never disclosed by these leaders.

Pannu further mentioned that during the 2015 sacrilege incidents, Sukhbir Badal was the Deputy Chief Minister and also held the Home Ministry portfolio.

During that period, the police employed batons and water cannons against peacefully protesting Sikh devotees. Two individuals were “martyred” in Behbal Kalan after being shot by the police. Even now, the public awaits justice.

He emphasized that the AAP government is introducing a Bill in the upcoming Assembly session to entirely eliminate sacrilege incidents, ensuring that no one dares to disrespect the sacred texts of any religion and that the religious sentiments of individuals from all faiths are safeguarded at all times.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)