AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH: The grenade attack on Amritsar’s Thakur Dwara temple has sparked a political firestorm, with opposition demanding accountability from the Punjab govt. State’s leader of the opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Saturday called for the resignation of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home affairs portfolio, citing a failure to maintain law and order.
Bajwa said: “This is the 13th such incident in Punjab’s border belt since mid-Nov. Earlier, police stations and personnel were targeted. Now, an attack on a temple risks inciting communal tension.”
He criticised Mann’s handling of the home department as “inefficient” and argued that the role requires full-time attention. “The AAP govt and Punjab Police blame Pakistan’s spy agency ISI for these attacks. Even if that is true, it exposes an intelligence failure. Their job is to prevent these incidents, but they have failed miserably.”
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh also condemned the attack and demanded assigning Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to expose those responsible. He accused Punjab’s AAP govt of neglecting security while prioritising party politics and “greeting leaders from Delhi”. “First, police stations were targeted, and now temples. This is a deliberate attempt to create social divisions,” Chugh said.
The Punjab Congress echoed similar concerns, and state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring claimed that such attacks had shaken public confidence. “There is an atmosphere of fear and terror in Punjab. The govt is downplaying the gravity of the situation,” he said, arguing that the attack on a temple was meant to instill fear. Warring urged Mann to clarify his govt’s position on the growing incidents of violence in the state. “The people of Punjab will reject any attempt to create division and unrest,” he asserted.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also condemned the attack and called for a judicial inquiry. Senior SAD member Dr Daljit Singh Cheema claimed the recurring violence suggested a larger conspiracy. “To see 13 blasts in the region proves that law and order has collapsed. This appears to be part of a plan to destabilise Punjab and let it go once more to the agencies,” he said.
Cheema accused central and state agencies of fueling divisions within the Sikh community. “Both the Union and state govt should take moral responsibility for these incidents. Past interference in Sikh institutions has been disastrous. They should learn from history,” he warned. The blast has reignited concerns about Punjab’s security, with political leaders across party lines calling for urgent action to restore stability.
