Gurdwara attack: BJP uses it as ammunition to quell citizenship law row

New Delhi: A day after a mob attack on the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri sought to know on Saturday whether those protesting across the country against the Citizenship Act (CAA) needed more evidence of the oppression minorities are facing in neighbouring countries.

Taking to Twitter, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said the violent mob that besieged the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara on Friday had threatened to change the name of the holy place to "Ghulam-e-Mustafa".

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, also known as Gurdwara Janam Asthan, is the site near Lahore in Pakistan where the first Guru of Sikhs, Guru Nanak, was born.

A violent mob had attacked the gurdwara and pelted it with stones on Friday.

Condemning the attack on Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, the BJP on Saturday said that the incident justifies amendments made to the citizenship law.

BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi said minorities in Pakistan have been subjected to threats for civil conversion, rapes and violence for decades and the Nankana incident shows how minorities there are persecuted and why they need citizenship in India.

According to the CAA, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution in those nations, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but be given Indian citizenship.

Hundreds take to the streets

Hundreds of people thronged the streets leading to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi's Chanakyapuri on Saturday and protested against the mob attack and stone-pelting on devotees at the gurdwara, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism.

Members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too were among the protesters.

"It is a condemnable act. We cannot tolerate such attacks on our holy shrines," SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said. Badal also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue with Pakistan and ensure the security of Sikhs in the neighbouring country.

Apex Sikh body to send a four-member delegation to Pakistan

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body which manages Sikh shrines, will send a four-member delegation to Pakistan to take stock of the situation.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has also expressed concern over reports of the mob attack. In a tweet, Singh appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to ensure that the devotees stranded at the gurdwara were rescued from the mob.

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed Friday attack reprehensible and said the only known antidote to bigotry is love, mutual respect and understanding.

"The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible & must be condemned unequivocally. Bigotry is a dangerous, age-old poison that knows no borders. Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding is its only known antidote," he said in a tweet.

India condemns the attack

On Friday, the External Affairs Ministry condemned the "wanton acts of destruction and desecration" at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and urged Pakistan to take immediate steps to ensure safety and welfare of the Sikh community. It also said that members of the minority Sikh community in Pakistan have been subjected to acts of violence in the holy city of Nankana Sahib.

"India strongly condemns these wanton acts of destruction and desecration of the holy place,"  the MEA said in a statement. 

"We call upon the government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and welfare of the members of the Sikh community," the MEA added. 

"Strong action must be taken against the miscreants who indulged in the desecration of the holy Gurdwara and attacked members of the minority Sikh community," it said.

Gurdwara “untouched and undamaged”: Pakistan

Pakistan has rejected reports the gurdwara was desecrated, saying it remains "untouched and undamaged".

The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement said the provincial authorities in the Punjab province have informed that there was a scuffle in the city of Nankana Sahib on Friday between two Muslim groups.

The altercation happened on a minor incident at a tea-stall and the district administration immediately intervened and arrested the accused, it said.

"Attempts to paint this incident as a communal issue are patently motivated. Most importantly, the gurdwara remains untouched and undamaged. All insinuations to the contrary, particularly the claims of acts of 'desecration and destruction' and desecration of the holy place, are not only false but also mischievous," the Foreign Office said.

The Foreign Office statement has come after some reports in the Indian media said that a mob attack had taken place at the shrine. The reports suggested that hundreds of angry residents at Nankana Sahib pelted stones at the Sikh pilgrims on Friday.

It said the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor is a manifestation of Pakistan's special care extended to the minorities, in line with the vision of the country's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

(With inputs from PTI)