New Delhi: Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Saturday claimed that a mob attack on the revered Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan was an "open declaration" to convert the shrines into mosques.
"The incident is an open declaration to convert all gurdwaras into mosques. (Pakistan Prime Minister) Imran Khan is silent on it. Sikhs will never be scared of such acts," said Sirsa. "This shows and proves that Pakistan is a Muslim nation and has no value for minorities who live there. We will be forced to take revenge. We want Pakistan to stop such goons and demand action against them."
A mob on Friday had attacked the shrine where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born. Reports suggested that hundreds of angry residents at Nankana Sahib pelted the Sikh pilgrims with stones. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had expressed concern over the developments, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) demanding that Pakistan protect the Sikh residents there.
Sirsa on Friday had tweeted a video showing an angry mob seen shouting anti-Sikh slogans outside Nankana Sahib. "Live footage from Nankana Sahib where an angry Muslim mob is outside Gurdwara Sahib and raising anti-Sikh slogans," he had written in the post.
The incident comes at a time when India and Pakistan have been sparring over the amended Citizenship Act, with Khan calling the Narendra Modi-led Indian government "fascist, racist". The Pakistan government had also passed a resolution in its National Assembly that was rejected by India.
The MEA in a statement said the Pakistani parliamentary resolution "makes references to matters that are entirely the internal affairs of India" and was a "thinly veiled attempt by Pakistan to further its false narrative on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh".
India described the resolution as a "poorly disguised effort to divert attention from Pakistan's appalling treatment and persecution of its own religious minorities", whose demographics "speak for themselves".
The Nankana Sahib Gurdwara incident gave fresh ammunition to the BJP to attack the Congress and its Punjab leader Amarinder Singh, who have been opposing the CAA.
"Persecution of minorities in Pakistan is a reality. Today’s attack on Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib has shown its horrible face. I want to ask Captain Amarinder Singh and the Congress how can they oppose PM Narendra Modi's noble humanitarian gesture of giving rights to such persecuted minorities!" said Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Badal in a tweet.
Hours after her tweet, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi condemned the mob attack, saying bigotry is a dangerous, age-old poison that knows no borders.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi termed the attack reprehensible and said the only known antidote to bigotry is love, mutual respect and understanding.
"The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible and 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.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the mob attack was another example of the state of minorities in Pakistan.
"These are wanton acts of vandalism, arson and stone pelting against one of the holiest Sikh shrines. If any more proof was needed on the state of minorities in Pakistan, then this is it," he said.
Puri also sought to know on Saturday whether those protesting across the country against the CAA needed more evidence of oppression of minorities in the neighbouring country.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal deplored the mob attack and said atrocities on Sikhs cannot be tolerated.
"The attack on Nankana Sahib is a cowardly and shameful incident. Nankana Sahib is the centre of faith of crores of Sikhs. Atrocities on Sikhs living there cannot be tolerated," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
Members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and SAD also staged a protest near the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi over the mob attack.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee described the incident of violence as "unacceptable".
"Humanity comes above all else," she said in a statement.
Cricketer Harbhajan Singh also expressed concern over the attack on the revered shrine and urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene.
The veteran off-spinner shared on Twitter two videos of Mohammad Hassan, who was leading the mob and threatening to build a mosque in place of the historic Sikh shrine. "Don't know what's wrong with some people, why can't they live in peace.. Mohammad Hassan openly threatens to destroy Nankana Sahib Gurdwara and build the mosque in that place..very sad to see this," Singh said on Saturday.
"God is one..let's not divide it and create hate among each other's.. let's be human first and respect each other's.. Mohammad Hassan openly threatens to destroy Nankana Sahib Gurdwara and build the mosque in that place," he wrote in another tweet tagging Pakistan Prime Minister Khan.
(With inputs from agencies)
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