Scores of people gathered on the road leading to the Pakistan High Commission in central Delhi on Saturday to protest against the attack on Nankana Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore, Pakistan.
Separate protests by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Indian Youth Congress (IYC), and Delhi BJP Sikh Cell were held throughout the day.
The protest by the DSGMC started at 1 p.m. while the demonstration by the IYC began at 3.30 p.m. at the same place. The BJP protest started later. The protesters raised slogans against Pakistan. One placard read: “Double standard of Imran Khan, Sikhs are being tortured in Pakistan”.
Sikh community members also submitted a memorandum at the Pakistan High Commission asking the Pakistan government to explain the failure of law-enforcement agencies, the DSGMC said. The protest was led by DSGMC chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Shiv Charan Singh Lamba, DSGMC member, said the gurdwara was the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev and that the vandalism was highly condemnable.
Mohan Singh, a driver and resident of Kalyanpuri who was at the protest, said: “70% of our places of worship are in Pakistan. PM Imran Khan is vocal about everything and has spoken out against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India as he believes that Muslims are being cornered... Why hasn’t he spoken about what has happened at Nankana Sahib?”.
The protesters said they expect the Indian government to pressure Pakistan into probing the incident.
BJP national secretary R.P. Singh said: “People opposing the amended citizenship law should learn a lesson from this incident... this law is for the minorities who are tortured in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and to protect their religion.”
IYC president Srinivas BV said: “Pakistan is playing with our emotions and the time has come when we need to teach them a lesson.”
Published - January 05, 2020 12:35 am IST
