The Aam Aadmi Party made the past sacrilege cases its poll plank in the Punjab assembly elections. After the landslide victory, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann seems to have forgotten this. It is alleged that he himself has committed the act of sacrilege. Will the CM of Aam Aadmi be treated like the past accused or ‘Khas’ (special) rules will apply to him in this alleged case.
Alleged Beadbi
On the occasion of Baisakhi, the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann went to Takht Damdama Sahib and paid his obeisance. It is alleged that when he visited the holy shrine, he was in a drunken state. If true this could mean disrespect to the shrine and possibly a case of sacrilege. The opposition was quick to take this matter and hit out at the AAP and CM Mann.
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The Former Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Badal hit out at CM and said, “He is the chief minister of our Punjab. I do not want to say this but I am hurt. Nothing is more shameful than the Punjab Chief minister coming to the Damdama Sahib (shrine) in an inebriated state.” The leading opposition party congress too criticised the CM.
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga has filed a complaint against the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. The ruling party AAP in an attempt to save the CM and diffuse the situation has termed the opposition’s allegations as mud-slinging and dejection.
Past Cases and On-spot Punishment for accused
Just before the Punjab assembly election was announced, a few cases of alleged Beadbi shocked the state. A man was lynched by the devotees of the shrine when he allegedly tried attempting to desecrate the Guru Grant Sahib. In one separate case of alleged sacrilege, the mob lynched a mentally-challenged guy.
The party which came as a crusader against corruption, has leaders accused of corruption and other criminal cases. So it is fool-hardy to believe that the AAP will walk the talk in sacrilege cases, instead of bringing justice to the earlier cases, they themselves have been caught in that and no matter how many times the CM claims to be Aam Aadmi, he will not be treated as an ‘Aam’ accused of these cases.