Chandigarh, July 10 (IANS) Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Thursday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s special Assembly session for introducing a Bill against sacrilege, calling it another episode of theatrics.

He demanded that the government clarify whether it consulted religious institutions and why the draft Bill has not been shared with legislators.

The Bill is likely to be tabled in the Assembly on Friday.

Addressing the media along with newly-appointed working president Ashwani Sharma, Jakhar accused the government of being utterly irresponsible.

He emphasised that the BJP “takes the issue seriously and would welcome any genuine steps by the government, but urged it to avoid drama”.

He said the “failures” of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government far outweigh its publicity stunts.

Jakhar noted that over 300 sacrilege incidents have occurred in Punjab since 2015 and questioned how many culprits have been convicted under existing laws, which allow for a two-year sentence.

He pointed out that the Bill’s draft has neither been made public nor shared with legislators or religious institutions.

He also questioned what steps the government is taking to curb those spreading evil in the name of religion and suggested the proposed law should include provisions against leaders visiting religious sites under the influence of alcohol.

On the issue of land pooling policy, the BJP chief accused the government of acquiring vast tracts of land without public necessity to benefit “cronies of Arvind Kejriwal, who he claimed is running the government from behind the scenes”.

He alleged land acquisition powers were transferred from the Chief Minister to the Chief Secretary, and officials are amending land acquisition laws without cabinet approval.

Furthermore, the objection period for land acquisition was quietly reduced from 30 to 15 days without public notification.

Jakhar assured the BJP is examining all legal aspects of this issue and will take the matter to court to prevent this “loot”.

He promised that no farmer’s land would be acquired without their consent.

Expressing concern over the state’s deteriorating law and order, Jakhar said that under AAP chief Kejriwal’s “control”, ordinary citizens feel unsafe, and fear prevails across all sections of society.

Responding to a question, he asked why AAP leaders are silent on who facilitated the interviews of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from Punjab jails.

Jakhar criticised the Congress, the state’s main Opposition party, for remaining silent, claiming its leaders have already surrendered.

He challenged the Chief Minister to act on his earlier promise of registering cases against certain leaders in the Assembly, questioning why he has backtracked.

–IANS

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