SGPC meets Delhi Police chief, seeks FIR against Atishi amid row over ‘remark on Gurus’

An SGPC delegation met Delhi police commissioner Satish Golchha and sought registration of a case against former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi Marlena for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Sikh Gurus.

The delegation, led by SGPC senior vice president Raghujit Singh Virk, also included junior vice president Baldev Singh Kalyan, executive member Gurpreet Singh Jhabbar, Haryana Sikh Mission in-charge Sukhwinder Singh and Delhi Sikh Mission in-charge Manveet Singh.

The delegation alleged in its memo submitted to the commissioner that the comments were made deliberately. The delegation stated, “Strict action must be taken against the AAP leader so that no political leader dares to indulge in such acts.”

Atishi has already refuted the charge, saying a video clip of her shared on social media had been tampered with by the BJP. The AAP-ruled Punjab has registered an FIR based on a forensic examination conducted in the state that termed the video clip “doctored”.

The Delhi assembly has referred the matter to its Privileges Committee, which has received the AAP leader’s statement. The ruling BJP has accused Atishi of using “insensitive words” against Guru Tegh Bahadur during a discussion in the Delhi assembly on January 6 to mark 350 years of the martyrdom of the Ninth Sikh Guru, Bhai Sati Das, Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Dayala. It has demanded an apology from the AAP leader.

The ruling BJP MLAs in the Delhi assembly have demanded cancellation of Atishi’s membership of the House over the incident.

Move politically motivated: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has criticised the SGPC’s demand for an FIR against Atishi, terming it a politically motivated move that trivialises grave issues related to the dignity of Guru Granth Sahib.

Punjab AAP media in-charge Baltej Pannu said when 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib went missing, the same SGPC chose not to cooperate with the Punjab Police or give statements. “They publicly maintained that they would not assist investigations. It was only after the Akal Takht Sahib jathedar explicitly asked them to cooperate that they reluctantly agreed. Even then, meaningful statements were not forthcoming,” he claimed in a statement.