Sidhu’s ‘publicly hang those guilty of sacrilege’ remark triggers furore
CHANDIGARH: A row broke out on Monday over a comment by Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who demanded public execution for those found guilty of sacrilege, amid simmering tensions in the state over two alleged desecration attempts in two days.
Sidhu had made the remarks at a public meeting in Malerkotla on Sunday, a day after a man was beaten to death for committing sacrilege inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
“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,” said Sidhu.
“Anyone can make a mistake, but this is not a mistake, this is a conspiracy to weaken and finish the society,” he added.
Sacrilege is an emotive issue in Punjab, which goes to the polls early next year and where multiple incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, were reported in 2015.
Sidhu’s comments sparked condemnation from civil society members.
Former president of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Baltej Singh, said politicians should refrain from making such statements. “The statement is in poor taste... Who is Sidhu to say so? Life either is taken by God or has to be taken by following due process of law.”
“Opportunistic politicians who play this dangerous game of pleasing communities and justifies barbaric lynching are a curse to our society,” tweeted film director Onir.