Akal Takht Demands Removal of 'Objectionable Clauses' From Punjab's New Anti-Sacrilege Law, CM Mann Refuses to Budge |
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Jalandhar: In a major development that could add to religio-political friction just before assembly elections, the Akal Takht – the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs – on Friday (May 8) directed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government to remove clauses it has termed as “objectionable” from the recently-passed ‘The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act 2026’ – a law that criminalises sacrilege – within 15 days. The Akal Takht has warned that if the clauses are not removed, “strict action” would be taken in the matter. The development comes less than a year before the Punjab assembly election, which is due in early 2027.
Akal Takht head Kuldip Singh Gargajj’s direction came in the wake of the recently enacted law, which was passed by the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government during a special session of Punjab assembly on April 13, 2026, on Vaisakhi at Sri Anandpur Sahib. Within two days, it got Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria’s assent, making it the first such law against sacrilege in Punjab.
However, reacting against the Akal Takht’s directives, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Saturday (May 9) categorically denied any plan of withdrawing the law and said, “There will be no withdrawal of Sacrilege Act 2026 at any cost. The act has already been implemented after the approval and signature of the Punjab governor, and it will not be withdrawn.”
Leading a scathing attack on the Badal family led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, CM Mann said, “The Badal family have formed their own ‘Badal Panth’ and are using the Jathedar and the Sikh clergy for issuing such statements. But I want to reiterate that there will be no withdrawal of the sacrilege act at any cost”.
Mann, who is currently holding a statewide ‘Shukrana Yatra’ (Thanksgiving procession) for enacting the law against sacrilege targeted the Badal family and said, “The entire sangat (community) has accepted the law; only one family is opposing it.”
The Shukrana Yatra began from Sri Anandpur Sahib on May 6, where the ‘Khalsa Panth was established by Sri Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.
In one of his public speeches at Amritsar, CM Mann said, “While the entire Sikh sangat has welcomed the law, the controllers of the Shiromani Committee are opposing it because allegations related to sacrilege point towards them.”
However, contrary to the Opposition’s claims, the CM has been reiterating that there was no political motive behind the Shukrana Yatra.
“The sole purpose of the Shukrana Yatra is to thank the almighty for giving me the strength and courage to pass this important legislation. I am nobody to pass this Act. Guru Sahib himself has taken this service from me”, he said, while thanking the gathering in Bathinda district in South Punjab.
‘Amounts to a direct challenge to Sri Akal Takht Sahib’
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