Chandigarh, August 28, 2018 :
The Punjab assembly on Tuesday unanimously has passed the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, and The Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2018, for making sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts punishable with life term.
The Captain Amarinder Singh government took back the amendments passed by the House during the previous regime that made only sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib punishable with life imprisonment.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded that Guru Granth Sahib be treated separately as Sikhs consider it a living guru. Akali MLA Gurpartap Singh Wadala cautioned the government “not to play with fire” by politicising religion. Akali legislator Bikram Singh Majithia too echoed same views.
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Bill to form panel to appoint DGP passed
The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2018, was passed by the House on Tuesday. It will facilitate setting up of a state police commission to select the state director general of police (DGP) from a panel to be constituted by the UPSC based on the proposal by the state concerned, in compliance with an apex court order.