Make draft sacrilege Bill public, Sunil Jakhar tells Punjab CM

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, demanding that the draft sacrilege Bill, along with the select committee report, be made public before it was tabled in the state Assembly on April 13.

In his letter, Jakhar said the proposed amendments to the Jaagat Jyot Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, be shared in advance with recognised political parties, MLAs and religious institutions concerned.

Jakhar stressed that this would allow a serious, logical and constitutional discussion on the issue.

The state BJP president said the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Bill-2025, introduced in the Assembly on July 14 last year, was referred to a 15-member select committee headed by AAP legislator Inderjit Singh Nijjar.

‘Give Rs 50,000 per acre relief to rain-hit farmers’

Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma has demanded that the government immediately provide a relief of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers for crop loss caused by unseasonal rain, hailstorms and strong winds.

In a statement, Sharma said the government’s own data showed damage to crops on 1.30 lakh acres.

He said farmers had not yet recovered from the devastation caused to the paddy crop by the floods last year.

“Neither the kharif nor rabi crop has survived, making this an extremely difficult time for agriculture. Farmer organisations were also continuously demanding compensation, which needed immediate attention,” he added.