Back-to-back sacrilege attempts at gurdwaras left Punjab shaken after the alleged culprits were beaten to death by angry devotees. Addressing these incidents, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the culprits should be awarded the punishment for such offenses.
While addressing a public meeting in Malerkotla district, Sidhu said that if any such sacrilege incidents take place, regardless of the religion, the culprits of the same should be given maximum punishment and “should be publicly hanged”.
The cricketer-turned-politician said, “We need to establish a voice of unity. The fundamentalist forces are disturbing our unity. However, whenever one religion is projected as higher and the other lower across the nation, Punjab always stands against it. All people are equal in Punjab.”
“If any incident of sacrilege takes place — be it of the Quran Sharif, the Bhagavad Gita or the Guru Granth Sahib — the culprits should be publicly hanged, should be given the maximum punishment under the Constitution because such incidents hurt our sentiments,” he added.
The Congress leader further added, “Anyone can make a mistake, but this is not a mistake, this is a conspiracy to weaken and finish the society.” Sidhu’s reaction to sacrilege came two hours after two men were beaten to death in Amritsar and Kapurthala after they had allegedly tried to desecrate the place of worship.
In a tweet, the political leader said, “Punjab is built on a strong foundation of Oneness & universal brotherhood laid down by Guru Sahib. No divisive forces can destroy the strong social fabric of the Punjabi Community. Deliberate & malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings should be dealt with deterrent punishment.”
A man was beaten to death in the Golden Temple in Amritsar after he allegedly tried to desecrate the holy book in the prayer area. Just a few hours later, another man was beaten to death by angry devotees in the Kapurthala district when he allegedly disrespected the ‘Nishan Sahib’.
