Chandigarh, Apr 13 (PTI) The Congress on Monday targeted the AAP government in Punjab over the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters, alleging that despite promising justice before coming to power, the party has failed to deliver accountability.
However, during a one-day special Assembly session, the treasury benches slammed the previous Congress government for failing to take action against the perpetrators of the 2015 sacrilege incidents in Faridkot and said it is during the Bhagwant Mann government, chargesheets were filed in these cases in courts.
During the special session here on Monday, the Punjab Assembly passed a bill proposing stricter punishment, including life imprisonment, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann presented the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Rebel Akali MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali and BJP MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan too supported this bill.
Participating in the discussion on the bill, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said he supports the bill.
He, however, demanded that a select committee report on the Punjab Prevention of Offences against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025, be tabled in the House.
Bajwa asked the government whether it consulted constitutional experts before bringing the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
He also sought to know from the state government about the delivery of justice in the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters in Faridkot.
Bajwa reminded that promises of delivering justice within 48 hours have now stretched into 48 months, with no clear accountability or timeline.
“After 48 months (four years of AAP government), nothing has been done yet. We are supporting the bill. But the people of Punjab want answers from you. You have not done anything in four years,” Bajwa said.
“Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh (former Punjab police officer and now AAP MLA) who was once the poster boy of AAP and who was to be made the home minister, is out of party now,” he added.
Taking exception to Bajwa’s remark, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said it is an internal decision of the party whom to be made a minister or not.
“Is this an issue (to be raised today)? Have some shame,” Mann told Bajwa.
Referring to the 2015 sacrilege incidents, Bajwa said, “People of Punjab want answers from you. You have not done anything in four years.” Bajwa further pointed out that the sacrilege cases and police firing cases have been transferred out to Punjab to Chandigarh.
Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan while responding to Bajwa said it was the AAP government which got investigation into the 2015 police firing cases completed and filed chargesheets.
The incident related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of Guru Ganth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari, had taken place in Bargari in Faridkot in 2015.
These incidents had led to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.
In the police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters in October 2015, two people were killed in Behbal Kalan while some were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the Dera Sacha Sauda chief was the main accused in the 2015 sacrilege cases and he had not yet been brought on a production warrant to the state for questioning him.
“Justice could not be delivered in four years,” he said.
Khaira further said the government should ensure that the new law on sacrilege should not be in conflict with the central laws.
He also asked the AAP government whether it consulted the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on the anti-sacrilege law.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema attacked the SAD, BJP and the Congress, tracing the history of ‘beadbi’ incidents in the state back to the Nakodar killings.
The tragic sequence of ‘beadbi’ events consistently began whenever SAD and BJP were in power in Punjab, he alleged.
“On February 4, 1986, in Nakodar, police opened fire on Sikh youths who were peacefully protesting the burning of five Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Sri Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara Sahib. While the first part of the report was submitted, the second part mysteriously vanished,” said Cheema.
Highlighting lack of action by previous governments, he said “Successive SAD-BJP governments from 1997 to 2002 and 2007 to 2017, as well as the Congress government from 2002 to 2007, made absolutely no effort to locate the missing report or deliver justice.
Referring to the 2015 incidents, Cheema claimed that the previous Congress government failed to take action against the culprits.
“They only formed Special Investigation Teams but never submitted the challans in court. Under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, we are working hard to provide justice to the people. We filed the challans to finally fix accountability,” he said.
Meanwhile, the House also gave approval to extending by six more months the time period for the select committee to submit its report on the Punjab Prevention of Offences against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025. It would also examine the 1986 Nakodar firing incident. PTI CHS NB NB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.