Do protesters need more evidence of minorities' oppression in Pak: Puri on shrine attack

A day after a mob attack on the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday called the stir against CAA "manufactured and treacherous" and sought to know whether those protesting the amended law needed more evidence of oppression of minorities in the neighbouring country.

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 a 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.

"The violent mob that besieged Nankana Sahib Gurdwara has threatened to change the name of our holy place to Ghulam-e-Mustafa. Do those who are opposing the CAA need more evidence of oppression of minorities in Pakistan," Puri said in a tweet in Hindi.

He also posted a video clip that showed a mob threatening to change the Sikh shrine's name.

In another tweet, Puri, who also handles the Civil Aviation Ministry, said, "The outrage & stir against CAA is manufactured & treacherous to say the least, because the law does not take away any right from anyone.

"It simply offers sanctuary to persecuted minorities who came to India from theocratic states in our neighbourhood before 31 Dec 2014".

Members the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and Shiromani Akali Dal staged a protest near the Pakistan High Commission here on Saturday over the mob attack on the historic gurdwara.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, after facing religious persecution in those nations, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but be given Indian citizenship.