Raghav Chadha sits on dharna in front of Gandhi statue
- December 17, 2022
- Updated: 01:30 am
DW BUREAU / Chandigarh
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Raghav Chadha has taken a major action against sacrilege and demanded that the IPC section related to sacrilege be amended and made stricter to give harshest punishment to those who commit sacrilege.
He gave issued a Suspension of Business notice under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha to discuss amendments to the laws on Friday. After the Chairman refused to discuss the sacrilege, Raghav Chadha vehemently opposed it. He then sat on a sit-in in front of the Gandhi Statue outside Parliament House and demanded a discussion on sacrilege.
In his written notice to the Chairman, Chadha said that this House should discuss the increasing cases of sacrilege by suspending the work listed under Rule 29. This is a very serious and sensitive issue. Punjabis across the globe are extremely anger over rising incidents of sacrilege.
"For us, there is nothing more important than the respect of our Guru Sahiban. We can sacrifice our life, but they cannot tolerate the sacrilege of Guru Sahib," Raghav Chadha said. In the last few years, there have been several attempts by anti-social elements to desecrate Guru Sahib in Punjab. In 2015, Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji was desecrated in Bargari. Then in Ludhiana, the holy Shrimad Bhagwat Gita was desecrated. Incidents of sacrilege of Muqaddas Quran were also reported.
The punishment prescribed for this offence in sections 295 and 295A of the IPC related to sacrilege is very low that the morale of the perpetrators of such a serious crime has become very high. Therefore, there is a need to make this law stricter by amending it soon, so that those who dare to commit this sin can get life imprisonment or even harsher punishment. Consequently, this House should consider amending Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
(editor@dailyworld.in)