Bhagwant Mann thought it would be a masterstroke. On Baisakhi, 13 April, the Punjab chief minister convened a special session of the Vidhan Sabha, with a single-point agenda: to pass the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which introduces much stricter punishments for acts of sacrilege (beyadbi) against the Sikh holy text. The amendments substantially expand a 2008 Act, which primarily regulated the printing and handling of the Guru Granth Sahib.

The symbolism was unmistakable. Beyadbi is an emotionally charged issue in Punjab and Mann chose, on one of Sikhism’s most sacred days, to position himself as the leader who finally delivered what successive state governments had promised but failed to implement.

The new law prescribes a minimum punishment of 10 years in jail, extendable to life imprisonment. It imposes fines of Rs 5–25 lakh, makes the offence cognisable and non-bailable and empowers authorities to confiscate the properties of those accused of conspiring to incite communal unrest through sacrilege.

Mann thought the move was politically foolproof. No political party in Punjab could afford to oppose such a law — and they didn’t. The Bill sailed through, with unanimous support from the ruling AAP, the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria was equally prompt with his consent.

But the celebration lasted barely 24 hours. Opposition parties started distancing themselves. They questioned the intent of the law, and the haste over its passage. Opposition........

© National Herald