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Draft of proposed law on sacrilege should be made public: Sunil Jakhar
Sunil Jakhar said sacrilege is an extremely sensitive matter, and it is essential that the general public, all political parties, and religious organisations are taken into confidence regarding the new law.
Sunil Jakhar wrote that since amendments are now being discussed, it is very important that they are made available to the recognised political parties in advance. (ANI file photo)
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar has written a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann demanding that the draft of the proposed law to prevent sacrilege of holy religious scriptures and consecrated idols, along with the Select Committee report, be made public.
He stated that sacrilege is an extremely sensitive matter, and it is essential that the general public, all political parties, and religious organisations are taken into confidence regarding the new law.
Jakhar wrote that since amendments are now being discussed in Act No. 21 of 2008 — the Jagat Jyot Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008 — it is very important that the draft of these amendments be made available in advance to the recognised political parties, members of the Legislative Assembly, and concerned religious institutions.
“This would ensure that broad public opinion is considered for a serious, logical, and constitutional discussion on this sensitive issue,” the Punjab BJP president said.
Jakhar further stated that last year Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill, 2025 was referred for detailed consideration to a 15-member select committee constituted under the leadership of former minister and MLA Inderjit Singh Nijjar. Therefore, it is necessary that the report of this committee be made public, he added.
“In a responsible democratic system, it is our constitutional and moral duty to thoroughly study any such sensitive Bill before deliberation. Therefore, the complete draft of the Bill or the proposed amendments to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly on April 13, 2026, must be made available in advance,” he concluded.
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