BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi while condemning the attack on Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, on Saturday said she didn’t know where Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has fled and questioned whether he will hug the ISI chief after this incident.
In a shocking incident of violence, hundreds of angry Muslims gathered outside the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara — the birthplace of Guru Nanak — and pelted stones at the shrine with devotees inside on Friday evening. Although,
Pakistan government late on Friday rejected reports that Nankana Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore was desecrated by a mob of Muslim residents.
While addressing a press conference with BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh, Lekhi said that there have been consistent acts of violence at religious places in Pakistan and minorities have been subject to threats of conversion and rapes for decades.
“There have been thousands of incidents where young girls have been picked up, forcibly converted and married off to Muslim boys while the police, government and other agencies are part and parcel of the process,” Lekhi alleged. The incident shows how minorities are being persecuted, she added.
“The persecution has continued unabated since the creation of Pakistan, resulting in forced migration of minorities into India. This not only justifies the necessity of an act like the CAA but also stresses the need for its immediate implementation. Pakistan now proves that CAA is right and is timely,” she said.
Saying that Nankana Sahib is the holiest shrine for Sikhs, Ms Lekhi said that the incident is equivalent to attacks on Kaaba or Jerusalem.
“I don’t know where Sidhu paaji has fled. Somebody should find out where he is. If he wants to hug the ISI chief even after all this, the Congress should look into it,” Lekhi said.
“Pakistan must know that Sikhs are the offsprings of that soil and continue to have faith and duty towards that soil. They did not migrate and chose to remain there,” she added.
Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, also known as the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, is the site where the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, was born. It is regarded as one of the holiest Sikh sites.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement on Friday had called for strong action against the miscreants who had “indulged in desecration of the holy Gurdwara and attacked members of the minority Sikh community”.
The MEA said the reprehensible actions followed the forcible abduction and conversion of a Sikh girl who was kidnapped from her home in the city of Nankana Sahib in August last year.
According to reports, hundreds of angry Muslims gathered outside the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara — the birthplace of Guru Nanak — and pelted stones at the shrine with devotees inside on Friday evening.
The mob was being reportedly led by the family of Mohammad Hassan, the boy who allegedly abducted and converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who is the daughter of the gurdwara’s granthi.
Video clips doing the rounds on the social media showed a family member of the boy saying that he will destroy the gurdwara to build a mosque.
Following the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had condemned the attack and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan to intervene in the matter.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also condemned the alleged attack on the gurdwara.
Earlier, during the inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor Navjot Singh Sidhu was singled out for special treatment by Pakistan Prime Minister and fellow ex-cricketer Imran Khan. Sidhu was the only member of the Indian delegation to be provided with a car on the way back to the India-Pak border after the ceremony. All others, including elderly former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Punjab chief minister Amrinder Singh, union ministers of state Hardeep Puri and Harsimrat Kaur and a host of other luminaries were made to travel by bus.
Former Punjab minister and Congress legislator Navjot Singh Sidhu in November, last year wrote to the Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) for permission to travel to the Kartarpur corridor opening on the invite of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In a letter to Union MEA minister S Jaishankar, Sidhu said in case permission to the Pakistan invitation is not granted, he would cross the border as a pilgrim.