Chandigarh, April 7 A sub-committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Tuesday requested the Punjab government to provide a copy of the draft of an anti-sacrilege law for their suggestions.
The AAP government has called for a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on April 13 to amend the Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, to include stricter punishment for the desecration of the Sikh religious text, the Guru Granth Sahib.
The proposed legislation would include hefty fines, confiscation of property, and cover offenses committed through digital content.
The SGPC held a 'panthic' gathering in Amritsar and urged the Punjab government to consult the Sikh community before enacting an anti-sacrilege law.
It also formed a 12-member sub-committee comprising retired judge Mohinder Mohan Singh Bedi, advocate Puran Singh Hundal, Sikh History Research Board member Paramvir Singh, former chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Kehar Singh, and SGPC members Bibi Kiranjot Kaur and Bhagwant Singh Sialka.
The sub-committee, after a meeting on Tuesday, said, "The sacred Gurbani enshrined within Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji serves as a guiding light and holds the status of the Guru in a direct and manifest form. This unique status of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji was bestowed by Sri Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, through his command to the Sikhs before his merger with the True light."
It said an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion pervades the proposed law, and there are doubts in the Sikh community about the government's intention.
"Therefore, during today's meeting, the sub-committee nominated by the SGPC has, through a letter, urged the government to immediately share the proposed draft or details of the amendments with the SGPC and make them public for the Sikh community, so that appropriate suggestions can be provided," the sub-committee said.
It said it has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the matter. On March 28, Mann announced a session to discuss the law, asserting a zero-tolerance stance against sacrilege.
"On April 13, we will amend the 'Beadbi' law. Anyone committing 'beadbi' of Sri Guru Granth Sahib will face 10 years to life imprisonment," he said in Fatehgarh Sahib.
The Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, enacted during the earlier SAD-BJP government, grants exclusive rights to the SGPC to print and publish the Sikh holy book.