Reversing tide after four decades, BJP leader wants liquor and tobacco banned near Golden Temple

In a Facebook post, he said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government has not responded to his representation regarding this demand, prompting him to protest outside Darbar Sahib for one day.

On September 27, 2022, Raju requested the National Commission for Minorities to direct the state government to ban the sale and consumption of liquor and tobacco products within a one-mile radius of historical gurdwaras, including Darbar Sahib. He also called for a complete ban on smoking and drinking in public places in the state and suggested declaring gurpurabs (days related to Sikh Gurus) as dry days. Additionally, he proposed that liquor vends should operate on alternate days.

The commission issued a notice to the Mann government but it did not respond, according to Raju. On March 29, 2023, he filed a PIL petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“The Bhagwant Mann government gave an undertaking before the Honourable High Court that it would consider my representation. Based on this undertaking, the Honourable High Court disposed of the writ petition,” Raju said.

Raju subsequently submitted a representation to the Mann government in May 2023. “Since the Bhagwant Mann government did not take any action on the representation for 16 months, I filed a contempt petition against its inaction. The Honourable High Court has directed the Punjab government to file a compliance report before December 10, 2024,” he added.

Harbans Lal Khanna’s tobacco march

In a meeting on September 24, 1980, then Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Gurcharan Singh Tohra demanded Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declare Amritsar a holy city. The Sikh Student Federation and Dal Khalsa called for a march on May 31, 1981, to press for this demand.

However, two days before this march, a BJP MLA, Harbans Lal Khanna, led a countermarch against the demand in the city. Participants in Khanna’s march brandished cigarettes and other tobacco products, with some smoking during the event. The march turned violent and Khanna emerged as a divisive figure. A mob led by Khanna broke the model of Darbar Sahib at the Amritsar railway station on February 14, 1984. Sikh militants assassinated Khanna on April 2, 1984. The BJP’s Amritsar office is named after Khanna.