Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has slammed the BJP for targeting senior AAP leader Atishi for her alleged remarks on Guru Tegh Bahadur which, he claimed, she never made.
Alleging that the BJP has always been anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh, Mann said in a post on X, “Today, its (BJP’s) anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh face has been exposed once again…They have insulted the Guru by adding his name to a video of Atishi, using words she never even uttered.
“The BJP should apologise to the Sikh community and the people of Punjab for this shameful act. It has always indulged in the politics of religion and hatred, but this will not work in Punjab.”
On Wednesday, the ruling BJP MLAs forced an adjournment of proceedings in the Delhi Assembly, demanding cancellation of Leader of Opposition Atishi’s membership for “disrespecting” Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Atishi, on her part, has accused the BJP of indulging in petty politics by dragging the name of the ninth Sikh guru.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta alleged that Atishi made a “shameful and indecent” comment in the Assembly on the guru, and requested Speaker Vijender Gupta to initiate action against her.
In a post on X, Gupta said, “This shameful and undignified comment has hurt the sentiments not only of the Sikh community but also of the people of the entire country.”
The BJP alleged that Atishi disrespected Guru Tegh Bahadur after a special discussion on the three-day event organised by the Delhi government to mark the Sikh Guru’s 350th martyrdom day last November.
In a video post on X, Atishi claimed that she was talking about the BJP running away from a discussion on pollution and about their protest in the Assembly on the issue of stray dogs.
“But the BJP deliberately added a false subtitle and inserted the guru’s name into it,” she claimed, referring to the clip.
The former Delhi chief minister said she belongs to a family in which, for generations, the eldest son would be raised as a Sikh.
She would rather die than insult the guru, Atishi said.