In what can be seen as AAP leader Atishi row over 'Guru' remarks getting intensified, the forensic report on the controversial video clip has now triggered a fresh political flashpoint between the BJP-led Delhi Assembly and the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab. AAP leaders have hit back at Speaker as they claim Foresnsic report has not said that.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Saturday said a forensic science laboratory (FSL) report had concluded that the video allegedly showing Atishi making remarks disrespecting Sikh Gurus was original and untampered.The clip, which surfaced earlier this month, has been at the centre of an escalating political row involving allegations of religious insult, misuse of police machinery and breach of privilege.
“The report clearly states that the alleged remark by Atishi was found matching frame by frame in the video clip, that it was original and there was no tampering involved,” Gupta said at a press conference, adding that the audio and verbatim transcript of the clip matched.
The video was sent for forensic examination on January 8 after a demand by the Opposition AAP.Gupta said the findings contradicted claims made by the Punjab Police, which had earlier said its own forensic examination showed the clip was “doctored”.Based on that assessment, an FIR was registered in Jalandhar against those accused of circulating the video.
The Speaker accused the AAP government in Punjab of acting in haste. He said he would seek a CBI probe into the entire episode, including the forensic examination conducted by Punjab authorities.“The Assembly also warns the Punjab chief minister to refrain from interfering in its affairs and seeking to cover up the matter through political manipulations,” Gupta said.
He alleged that the report had exposed a “conspiracy” by a political party that, by misusing officials in Punjab, had hurt the honour of Sikh Gurus.Gupta said the Assembly would now decide the next course of action and asked Atishi to meet him and apologise. “The Assembly will take a serious view of it,” he said, if she failed to do so.
The controversy stems from remarks allegedly made by Atishi in the Delhi Assembly on January 6 during a discussion on the Delhi government’s programme last year to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
The issue has since widened into a political battle involving the BJP in Delhi and the AAP-ruled Punjab. Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj rejected the FSL report, arguing that it failed to address the core dispute.“She did not utter the word ‘Gurus’, but the report does not mention it. The BJP tried to fan religious discord by using the video, and action should be taken against its leaders,” he said.
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