CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday urged Delhi Vidhan Sabha Speaker Vijender Gupta to disqualify Leader of Opposition Atishi as an MLA for allegedly making blasphemous remarks against the Sikh Gurus, adding that a case should be registered against her. However, the Aam Aadmi Party has condemned attempts to 'mislead' the public, stating that a court had given a clean chit to the former Delhi Chief Minister.
In a letter to the Speaker, Badal said he was anguished at Atishi’s conduct both in his capacity as the president of the SAD as well as a devout Sikh. He said from a legislative viewpoint, it was a grave breach of privilege and contempt of the House, amounting to conduct unbecoming of a legislator. “A Member who publicly insults the faith, Guru Sahiban and religious sentiments of the Sikh community forfeits not only moral legitimacy but also constitutional right to remain a lawmaker,” he asserted.
Badal said Atishi’s alleged remarks against the Sikh Gurus constituted religious blasphemy under Sikh religious doctrine. He said they were also calculated to hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. “In the light of this, I request you to recommend registration of an FIR against Atishi under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code for hurting religious sentiments and Section 153A IPC for promoting enmity and disharmony between communities."
Badal said these provocations posed a serious danger to the hard earned atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in Punjab and the rest of the country. He added that the matter had evoked serious concern within Panthic institutions, headed by the supreme religio-temporal authority of the Sikhs -- the Akal Takht.
Meanwhile, AAP Punjab President Aman Arora, responding to the question raised by BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar on the forensic report of Punjab Police, said that the issue has gone far beyond political disagreement and now amounts to a direct challenge to a judicial order.
Arora said that the court, after examining forensic reports submitted by the State Forensic Science Laboratory, explicitly recorded that the viral video was doctored and that the alleged derogatory word was not present in the original audio. Based on this finding, the court ordered the video to be taken down and blocked across social media platforms.
“Questioning the forensic findings placed before a court is not questioning a political party or a government. It is questioning the conclusion recorded by a court of law,” Arora said. “Once a court has spoken, denying its findings is not politics, it is contempt for the rule of law.”
Responding to misleading claims and selective interpretations being circulated on social media, Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said that repeating a false narrative cannot change judicial facts. “A court examined forensic evidence and recorded its finding. That judicial conclusion stands on record. No political interpretation or selective reference can override a forensic determination accepted by a court,” he stated.