A political spat has erupted in Delhi and Punjab, with the Bharatiya Janata Occasion and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) accusing Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) chief Atishi, who’s the Chief of the Opposition (LoP) within the Delhi Meeting, of allegedly making derogatory remarks in opposition to Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru Tegh Bahadur. flag a video clip Concerning remarks she allegedly made within the Home of Commons.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and his get together have denied these claims are false, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Occasion had “processed” the video to “unfold misinformation and hatred”.
The unrest has snowballed into a bigger battle between the AAP and its rivals the BJP, SAD and Congress, with protests and counter-protests distinguished in AAP-ruled Punjab and BJP-ruled Delhi in current days. Actions have been additionally seen by the Punjab Police and the Delhi Meeting.
What’s a line?
On January 7, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra of the BJP posted on social media a video clip of Mr. Atishi’s remarks during which he allegedly insulted the ninth guru of Sikhism throughout a debate within the Lok Sabha in November final yr. BJP MLAs additionally staged a protest demanding cancellation of Atishi’s parliamentary membership. AAP hit again, accusing Mishra of posting a clip that “edited” Atishi’s feedback.
Later, AAP and BJP staged protests concentrating on one another. Punjab police have registered an FIR over the “photographed” video as opposition events intensify protests within the state demanding Atishi’s arrest.
On Saturday, taking cognizance of the Punjab Police’s FIR within the matter, Delhi Meeting Speaker Vijender Gupta issued a “breach of privilege” discover in opposition to senior Punjab Police officers for “unwarranted interference with property of the Home”.
What’s an FIR?
Final Friday, Jalandhar police had introduced the registration of an FIR within the case and mentioned they’d downloaded a video clip of Atishi from Kapil Mishra’s X account and forwarded it to Forensic Science Laboratory Director Mohali for investigation.
“The video forensic report of January 9 has revealed that the phrase Guru was not uttered by Atishi within the audio contained within the video clip being circulated on social media. There was deliberate tampering of the video to attribute phrases that have been by no means uttered by Atishi within the captions,” Jalandhar police mentioned.
The report mentioned the FIR was registered on the idea of a criticism by Iqbal Singh who claimed that the video clip was shared by 4 leaders, together with Kapil Mishra. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab Congress MLAs Palghat Singh and Sukhpal Khaira.
Iqbal Singh mentioned in his criticism that the video falsely depicts Atishi making blasphemous remarks in opposition to Sikh gurus with the goal of stirring up non secular sentiments and stirring up nationwide hostility.
Police additionally mentioned they haven’t named the leaders within the FIR registered beneath numerous sections of the BNS and IT Act. Nevertheless, Sukhpal Khaira and Palghat Singh claimed to have been charged within the case.
How did the Delhi Congress intervene?
The dispute seems to have pitted the Punjab administration and the Delhi Meeting in opposition to one another. The Delhi Meeting has despatched a “breach of privilege” discover to the Punjab DGP, Jalandhar Police Commissioner and the Punjab Particular DGP for Cyber Crime and has been requested to reply by Monday. A forensic report can also be being sought.
Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta mentioned the Punjab Police’s actions and forensic examination of the video amounted to a “breach of privilege” of the Home because the video was recorded contained in the Home and was the property of the Home.
Why did protests erupt throughout Punjab?
In Punjab, the place Sikhs are the bulk, the Panthic challenge may change into a political challenge. The dispute has intensified as all main political events put together for state elections scheduled for early 2027. At a time when the ruling get together is attempting its greatest to woo the Sikh group, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion and different state opposition events are profiting from this to nook the AAP. The Bhagwant Mann-led AAP authorities lately organized the 350th martyrdom anniversary celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Protests by AAP, BJP, Congress and SAD have been held throughout Punjab on Saturday over the video.
AAP activists staged a protest outdoors the residence of BJP president deputy Ashwani Sharma in Pathankot and Sukhbir Badal residence in Badal village.
They visited Palghat Singh’s home in Jalandhar and Sukhpal Kaira’s home in Bohrat and demanded his arrest for allegedly sharing the doctored video.
On the similar time, BJP and SAD staff held their very own protests in several components of Punjab to demand motion in opposition to Atishi.
What was the political response?
Kapil Mishra informed the media, “This video is within the media. They’ve the verbatim transcript of the video. Nobody can deny it. I need to say to Arvind Kejriwal that your police can not scare us. Atishi has fled. Arvind Kejriwal is supporting her and the video. They need to search forgiveness for this blasphemy.”
CM Bhagwant Mann slammed the Bharatiya Janata Occasion, accusing it of indulging in “low cost hate-driven politics” by circulating “edited movies”. Addressing media individuals in Bathinda on Sunday, Mann mentioned, “The Bharatiya Janata Occasion has edited the video of Mr. Atishi’s remarks within the Delhi Meeting and added false subtitles. None of Mr. Atishi’s statements are recorded within the minutes of the Meeting. If they’d been recorded, the Speaker would have had full details about them. The Bharatiya Janata Occasion is intentionally spreading misinformation and attempting to incite hatred in Punjab within the title of faith.” He added that forensic assessments had confirmed that Mr. Atishi by no means used the phrase “guru.”
“She (Atishi) by no means mentioned guru… So, based mostly on the video posted by Kapil Mishra, an individual filed a criticism in Jalandhar. There, an FIR was lodged with the police. They’ve dedicated blasphemy… They’ve performed the identical in different states up to now by altering phrases and contours. However we won’t permit communal concord to be disturbed in Punjab. We imagine in Salvato da Barra,” Mann mentioned.
The CM defended the Jalandhar police and mentioned, “Jalandhar police by no means eliminated the video clip from the Delhi Meeting…The video was faraway from the Meeting by Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra. He later posted it on his social media platform with the caption under. This was an try to defame the AAP management.”
In the meantime, in a publish on X on January 8, Atishi dismissed the BJP’s accusations as “lies” and accused the Bharatiya Janata Occasion of “misusing the title of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and insulting Guru Sahib”. She additionally posted a video of her remarks and claimed, “However the BJP has added false subtitles inserting Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s title.”
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bhardwaj defended Atishi and accused Kapil Mishra of “committing blasphemy by fabricating movies”.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar continued to level his get together’s weapons on the Mann authorities on the difficulty, questioning the alacrity of the police in having the video forensically examined on the day of its launch on January 7.
