Samana, March 22 Activist Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, who has been sitting atop a mobile tower since October 2024, refused to come down on Sunday until an anti-sacrilege law is implemented in Punjab.
Khalsa has been atop the telecom tower in Samana since October 12, 2024, demanding strict punishment for incidents of sacrilege.
Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, accompanied by MLAs Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, visited the protest site to persuade him to end the agitation.
Sandhwan said a special session of the Vidhan Sabha would be convened on April 13 to pass a strict law against sacrilege.
He said he would return on April 14 to hand over the draft of the bill. However, Khalsa rejected the assurances.
"I will only come down when the (anti-sacrilege) law is actually implemented on the ground," he said in a message from atop the tower.
He said his protest would continue until concrete action is taken. Khalsa is demanding stricter legal provisions against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The protest has drawn attention across Punjab due to its nature, with Khalsa remaining atop the tower for months, even during harsh weather conditions. Essential supplies are sent to him via ropes.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Saturday that his government would convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on April 13 to amend the Jagt Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, for stricter punishment against the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts.
The proposed legislation would include stringent punishment, heavy fines, property confiscation, and would cover offenses committed through digital content. The draft would be prepared in consultation with the Sant Samaj and legal experts, Mann had said.
He had said during the session that necessary amendments would be made to the Jagt Jyot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, enacted by the Punjab government, to introduce a strong and comprehensive law to prevent 'beadbi' of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts.