Remarks on Sikh Gurus: Delhi flags Punjab ‘delay’ in handing over Atishi file

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Friday raised “deep concern” over the Punjab Government’s “continued withholding” of a file related to the honour and dignity of the Sikh Gurus vis-à-vis alleged insulting remarks made by former CM and Leader of the Opposition Atishi during the winter session earlier this month.

In a statement issued by the Delhi Assembly Secretariat, Gupta flagged the “lack of transparency and deliberate delay in sharing crucial documents”. He alleged that the prolonged silence and repeated delays suggested an “attempt to conceal facts”.

“No copy of the FIR, complaint, or forensic science laboratory report has been made available so far. The absence of these documents has given rise to suspicion and cast a shadow on the integrity of the investigation,” he said.

Gupta claimed that the “matter appeared to have links extending up to the Punjab Chief Minister, which added to the seriousness of the issue”. He said the Delhi Assembly would “not treat the issue lightly under any circumstances”.

The Privileges Committee of the Assembly is looking into the alleged incident that took place on January 6 during a discussion commemorating Guru Tegh Bahadur's 350th martyrdom anniversary. Atishi, in her reply to the committee, has refuted the charge and demanded an unedited video recording of House proceedings from the day of the incident.

The Punjab Police, based on a purported video of the incident posted on social media by BJP leaders, registered an FIR in Jalandhar. A forensics test of the clip allegedly revealed the video was tampered with, according to the Punjab Police. However, a Delhi forensic science lab which examined the clip on the direction of Speaker Gupta, found it to be genuine.

The Delhi Assembly has sought replies from top Punjab Police officials, as well as copies of the complaint based on which FIR was registered, the FIR and the forensics report.

AAP says Delhi speaker has no authority over another state's police

The Aam Aadmi Party has said that the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly has probably forgotten that he is the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, not the Punjab Assembly. “He has no legislative jurisdiction over the functioning of the police of another state. The police of that state are following due procedure of law and have rightly taken action against those who attempted to disrupt peace and public order in the border state of Punjab by spreading false and communal rumours.

“The Speaker held a press conference and referred to a forensic report prepared by the Delhi government. However, he has not made the report public till date. This raises doubts about the actual contents of the so-called forensic report. The Speaker is humbly advised to follow established rules and legislative procedures rather than issuing press releases and holding press conferences on a sub judice matter,” a senior party leader said.