SAD protests against Atishi over alleged remarks against Sikh guru, demands she be booked

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal held protests on Saturday demanding that AAP leader Atishi be booked and her Delhi Assembly membership cancelled for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Notably, during the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly, BJP MLAs accused Atishi of insulting Guru Tegh Bahadur after a special discussion in the House over the Delhi government's programme to mark his 350th martyrdom anniversary in November last year.

The protests by SAD were staged in all districts.

Besides burning Atishi's effigies, speakers at the dharna sites also demanded the immediate arrest of the former Delhi chief minister as well as all others "behind this conspiracy".

SAD delegations also submitted representations to deputy commissioners in all districts, urging the Punjab governor and Delhi Assembly speaker to take action against Atishi.

The memorandum claimed that Atishi had knowingly made derogatory remarks against the Guru. It also claimed that the alleged remarks were part of the official record of the Delhi assembly and that this was a fit case for registration of a case against the AAP leader for hurting Sikh sentiments, as well as her arrest.

It also pointed out that the video recording of Atishi allegedly making insulting remarks against the Guru was also circulating on social media, causing anguish among the Sikhs.

The memorandum also pointed out that recently, a number of other disparaging videos against Sikh Gurus, Sikh leaders and Sikh institutions were circulating on social media. It said the videos were creating tensions in society and could spoil the atmosphere of the State.

It demanded that all these clips be removed from social media and appropriate cases be registered against the culprits.

On Wednesday, the BJP MLAs forced an adjournment of the Delhi Assembly's proceedings, 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.

In a video post on X earlier, 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 name of Guru Tegh Bahadur into it, she claimed, referring to the clip.