In a cynical act of realpolitik aimed at bolstering the Aam Aadmi Party’s image in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced a stringent anti-sacrilege law. The move smacks of desperation and exposes a deficit of ideas in AAP, already reeling from a severe drubbing in the Delhi assembly polls earlier this year.

AAP arrived on the scene in Punjab with a bang, on the back of its anti-corruption stance and the purported success of its ‘Delhi model’ of governance. Neither could be translated on the ground in Punjab, which is still struggling under a debt crisis, unsustainable subsidies, unemployment, deindustrialisation and low per capita income. Disillusionment set in, and the party managed only three seats out of 13 in Punjab in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, despite a solid mandate in the 2022 assembly polls.

In addition to Punjab’s economic woes, law and order has suffered. The spectre of extremism has raised its head over the last couple of years, reflected in the Lok Sabha victories of radical leaders Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa. This calls for proactive counter-radicalisation efforts by the state government. Instead, Mann has chosen to pander to hardliners by announcing a questionable law.

The Punjab Prevention of Offences against Holy Scripture(s) Act of 2025 is not the answer to extremism. The draft law........

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