High drama was witnessed outside the Punjab Assembly here today when legislators of the opposition SAD dumped the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission report on sacrilege incidents outside the Assembly complex, even before it was tabled.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal rejected the report, describing it as "waste paper". The report has no sanctity, Badal said.
He alleged that it was prepared at the residence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
The SAD has accused the Congress of defaming the Akalis by blaming them for the sacrilege incidents.
Legislators of the opposition party also raised anti-government slogans.
Dramatic scenes were witnessed when SAD MLAs flashed the "leaked" report and held a protest demonstration outside the Assembly.
SAD legislators sat on a dharna after being disallowed to take the copies of the "leaked" commission report inside the House.
Later, before the Question Hour began in the Assembly, SAD members raised the issue with the Speaker and told him that they were stopped briefly from entering the House, to which Speaker assured that he will get the matter looked into.
Outside the Assembly, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bikram Majithia and other SAD members even flashed the Action Taken Report on the recommendations of the Commission even before its tabling in the House.
Claiming the report was "leaked" before it was tabled, the SAD members to prove their point set up "shop" and put up flex boards for "selling the report" which, they said was freely available and thus was a breach of privilege of the House.
The SAD MLAs flung the copies of the "leaked" report in the air and also scattered its copies on the road outside the Vidhan Sabha.
They later sat on a dharna outside the main gate of the Assembly after they were stopped from taking the copies of the report inside.
Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that Pakistan's ISI was behind the sacrilege incidents.
The SAD and its ally BJP have submitted a notice for breach of privilege motion to the Speaker K P Singh. The report dealt with incidents of sacrilege at village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari and firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)