Diversionary tactic: Opposition slams AAP as Punjab mulls tough anti-sacrilege law
The draft also reportedly proposes action against the parents if the offender is a juvenile.OPPOSITION TRAINS GUNS ON AAPDelhi Minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday accused the AAP government in Punjab of playing politics over the issue of sacrilege."I just want to ask what the Aam Aadmi Party government has been doing for the past three and a half years. This is nothing but a diversionary tactic by the state government. Law and order in Punjab is a mess and the state is under heavy debt. People are criticising this government and AAP just wants to divert the issue through this," Sirsa said while speaking to reporters in Chandigarh.Calling AAP MLA from Amritsar North Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh as their "poster boy", Sirsa alleged he was not allowed to speak about the sacrilege issues in the state assembly. Earlier this year, AAP suspended Singh, for five years over his alleged involvement in anti-party activities.Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring echoed similar concerns, stating, "It is good that a law will be made, but Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has thought about this after three and a half years. Even their battle against drugs took over three years to begin".SACRILEGE SHOULDN'T HAPPEN: AAPResponding to the criticism, Punjab Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh said, "We are working on it and our aim is that sacrilege incidents must not happen. Manjinder Singh Sirsa must focus on what is happening in Delhi."Earlier, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema had also hinted at a tough new law but maintained that the government was not rushing the process and did not confirm when the bill would be tabled."A panel of legal experts is being consulted over framing the law. We will take the opinion of LR (legal remembrancer) and the AG (Advocate General) office. The law will ensure that no person dares to indulge in sacrilege. Our work (on framing the legislation) is not finished yet. When the draft is completely ready, we will share it," Cheema had said.advertisement"Earlier, SAD-BJP government framed a wrong bill and then the Congress regime framed the wrong one. We will not bring a law that requires repeated amendments," he added.PREVIOUS EFFORTS FELL SHORTThis is the third attempt by a Punjab government to enact a strict anti-sacrilege law. Previous efforts by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government in 2016 and the Congress government in 2018 either failed to secure Presidential assent or were returned by the Centre.In 2016, the SAD-BJP government had passed the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill and CrPC (Punjab Amendment) Bill, recommending life imprisonment for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Centre, however, returned these bills.Two years later, the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government expanded the scope by passing similar amendment bills in 2018, adding the Bhagavad Gita, Quran and the Bible to the list of holy books protected under the proposed law. But these too failed to get the President's assent.- Ends
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