Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday said the special assembly session called by the Aam Aadmi Party government on April 13 to enact a law against sacrilege was only an attempt to "cover up its failure" in punishing the guilty despite being in power for four years.
The Bhagwant Mann government has convened a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, and introduce stricter punishment against the sacrilege of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib.
The state Congress chief asked why the AAP had "failed" to punish those responsible for the sacrilege and the later killing of protesters. He was referring to the series of sacrilege incidents in 2015, the protests that followed, and the killing of two Sikhs in police firing at the protesters.
"The special session will be yet another theatrical presentation by the AAP, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," Warring said, pointing out that the AAP has used special sessions to "deflect public attention and wriggle through difficult situations from time to time." Had the AAP government's intentions been sincere, it would have held deliberations with stakeholders, scholars and legal experts before drafting a law that has not only emotional and sentimental significance for the Punjabi community but also has long-term future implications, the Ludhiana MP said in a statement.
Warring claimed that there was an "open understanding" between the AAP and the Shiromani Akali Dal with the "patronage" of the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue.
"Otherwise, why would the AAP government not take any action against the guilty, when Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal had himself confessed to the guilt in front of the Akal Takht?" he asked.
Warring reminded the AAP leaders, particularly its supremo Arvind Kejriwal, about his "boastful claims before the 2022 assembly elections that those guilty of sacrilege will be punished within 24 hours." However, four years have passed, and the guilty are roaming scot-free, Warring said, adding that mere enactment of laws does not lead to deterrence if there is no punishment.
He further said those within the AAP who raised their voice against sacrilege were sidelined.
"The AAP's poster boy against sacrilege, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh (former Punjab Police officer and now an AAP MLA) has been completely sidelined from the party. He is on the verge of resigning," Warring claimed.
Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party, he asked why its government at the Centre has still not notified the stringent anti-sacrilege law passed unanimously by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 2016.
He also asked the AAP government why it did not pursue the matter with the Centre all these years.
"What is the guarantee that the new law the AAP government will enact will also not meet the same fate?" he asked.
The Akali government brought an anti-sacrilege law just before its term ended in 2016, Warring said, "The AAP is doing the same thing now, just a few months before its term is going to end in Punjab for good." In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab cabinet on Saturday approved the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes enhanced penalties, including life imprisonment, to deter incidents of 'beadbi' (sacrilege) and uphold the sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib.
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