AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha today moved a Suspension of Business Notice under Rule 267 in the House. While moving the notice, he said that cases of beadbi or sacrilege are rising Punjab.
He demanded a law that gives harshest punishment to the offenders. Chadha, has addressed his letter to the Chairman. He stated that incidents of sacrilege have agitated Punjabis all over the world. He said that people of the state will not tolerate beadabi orinsults of the holy books.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought Government intervention for getting Presidential assent for two pending bills of state stipulating harsher punishment for the perpetrators of the “serious” crime of beadbi or sacrilege.
In 2018, the then Amarinder Singh government had passed two bills related to sacrilege, but did not get Presidential assent.
The issue had turned political fotunes after in October 2015, during the former SAD- BJP government’s rule, the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib took place in Bargari. After this, a few more incidents took place. In some cases, accused were beaten or badly injured by Sikh devotees.
Beadbi is an Abrahamic concept
Exactly one year ago, the controversial politician Navjot Singh Siddhu had also made such a demand. He had said that state should publicly hang those who commit beadbi or sacrilege. He also falsely equated the holy books of Hindus, Bhagwad Geeta and Guru Granth Sahib with Islamic book Quran.
It seems that myopic politicians like Raghav Chadha and Navjot Siddhu don’t realise the dangers of such propositions. These tendencies have the potential to turn Punjab into a Taliban or Pakistan.
The concept of Sacrilege of book is alien to Indian thought process. It is an Abrahamic concept. That is why, there have been numerous instances of lawlessness in Pakistan. People frequently accuse someone of sacrilege and try to dispense instant justice by mob lynching.
In the notorious case of Salman Taseer in Pakistan, the Islamists have hailed the murderer of Taseer some kind of a Hero. Likewise, in Punjab, unruly mobs have killed at least two persons by accusing them of Beadbi or sacrilege.