Sacrilege report likely to rock Punjab Vidhan Sabha session

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha session is likely to begin on a stormy note tomorrow with the ruling Congress and Akalis expected to get slug it out over the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission report on sacrilege incidents.

The government will table the report along with action taken report in the Monsoon session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, officials said here.

The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has rejected the report, submitted to chief minister Amarinder Singh on August 16, and accused the Congress of defaming the Akalis by blaming them for the sacrilege incidents.

"We completely reject the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report which is a Congress 'sarkari' commission," senior SAD leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said.

He sought removal of Justice (retd) Singh as the panel head and reiterated his party's demand for a probe into the sacrilege incidents by a sitting Supreme Court judge.

Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission was set up by the Congress government in April 2017 to investigate the various incidents of sacrilege of religious texts.

It dealt with incidents at village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari and firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015.

After receiving the report, Amarinder Singh directed the state home department to take necessary action in the cases.

In an embarrassment for the ruling party, the first part of the 182 page report was leaked online, virtually allowing the SAD to frame its strategy to counter the Congress.

Later, a key witness, Himmat Singh, a former granthi at the Golden Temple and brother of former Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Gurmukh Singh, retracted from his statement given to the commission against the then ruling Badal family.

He reportedly alleged that he was pressurised by cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to sign the statement.

However, Randhawa denied the charge.

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha session will also be significant as the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), whose state unit is witnessing infighting, tries to put up a united face.

The party plunged into crisis after Sukhpal Singh Khaira was sacked as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly in July.

Ruling out the possibility of any embarrassing situation, the current LoP Harpal Singh Cheema had said yesterday that all the MLAs will have to toe the party line in the Assembly.