Chandigarh, July 15: Today is the fourth and last day of the special session of the Punjab Assembly. In this, the bill regarding the desecration of religious texts introduced by CM Bhagwant Mann on Monday (14 July) was debated. However, after the debate, it was not passed, but on the proposal of CM Mann, it was sent to the Select Committee.
Now the select committee will work on this bill and take opinion from all religious organizations and people. A period of 6 months has been set for this. After this, this bill will be presented again in the assembly. In this bill, there is a provision of punishment ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for disrespecting the scriptures of all four religions.
On the other hand, CM Bhagwant Mann said that this bill should not be called a namooshi (insult or defamation) bill. This is historic and important.
Now the issue of drug addiction is being debated in the House. 2 hours have been allotted for this.
Statements by leaders during the debate…
- Bajwa said – There is no mention of book theft in the bill: Speaking on the debate, Pratap Singh Bajwa, leader of the opposition party Congress in the assembly, said that such a bill requires an in-depth study. There is no mention of book theft in it. It has been said that no officer below the DSP level will investigate the matter, but there should be a fixed time of 30 days for investigation. He said – If the investigation is not complete, then the SSP level should have the right to extend the time by 15 days. After this, the DGP should have the right to give permission to extend the investigation. If the investigation is found to be wrong, action should be taken against the officer. If any religious demonstration is public, then bullets should not be fired there.
- AAP MLA raised the issue of respecting other religions: AAP MLA Dr. Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi said that apart from Guru, it is important to respect other religions as well. Today, the scriptures of other religions are being called books. Is this not disrespect?
- SAD MLA supported the bill: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Manpreet Ayali said- Apart from Shri Guru Granth Sahib, there are other religious texts too, which should also be respected and honored. They should not be disrespected. We will pass this law, and it should also be passed in the Parliament. For this, all the parties should unite and get the law passed.
- We made Badals accused: AAP minister Aman Arora listed the government’s achievements. He said that our government investigated the incidents of sacrilege, FIRs were filed and SITs were also formed. We made Badals (Prakash and Sukhbir Singh Badal) accused. Previous governments did not do this.
- Indira Gandhi was assassinated after the sacrilege: AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra said- In 1984, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sacriled by attacking Darbar Sahib with cannons (under Operation Bluestar). Its impact was so much that two of our lions assassinated the Prime Minister. After this, there was a massacre in Delhi. Sacrilege affects the country.
- BJP MLA said- We are in favour of the bill: BJP MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan said- Better late than never. We support this bill. We respect all religions. There is idol worship in Sanatan Dharma, and it is worshipped after Pran Pratishtha. I believe that this should also be included in the bill.
- Supreme Court decisions not taken into consideration in the bill: Independent MLA Rana Indra Pratap Singh said- I support the bill, but its interpretation needs to be corrected. I feel that Supreme Court decisions have not been taken into consideration. The term “Holy Scriptures” should not be misused.
Ardaas offered before the debate
Ardaas was offered in the assembly before the debate. 2 hours were allotted for the debate. In this, 16 minutes were given to Congress, 1 hour 35 minutes to AAP, 3 minutes to Akali Dal, 2 minutes to BJP, 2 minutes to BSP and 2 minutes to independents. However, even after the time was over at 12:30, the debate on the bill continued.
Let us tell you that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 93 MLAs out of 117 in Punjab. This law will be made only when it gets the approval of the President after the approval of the Governor.