Atishi’s Alleged Comment Creates Furore in Delhi & Panjab

On 6 Jan, Delhi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Atishi (no second name) had used 'insensitive words' against the ninth Sikh Sovereign Guru Teghbahadar and demanded her apology. The issue came up during a discussion on the Delhi government's program marking the 350^th martyrdom anniversary of the Guru in November 2025. When the Speaker Vijender Gupta asked Atishi to present her comments on the program, Atishi stayed silent. After the Chief Minister Rekha Gupta spoke, and the Speaker called for the next issue to be discussed, Atishi insisted the Assembly discuss air pollution. Upon being reminded that air pollution has been marked for discussion on 7 Jan, she said, ‘Since morning you are running from the real issue. You are saying respect stray dogs (referring to BJP’s protest in favor of stray dogs).’ Atishi claimed BJP has twisted her words and inserted wrong captions on the video. She said she would rather die than insult the Guru and has posted a clip of the exchange. The apex representative body of Sikhs Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has said her remarks are ‘deeply hurtful to Sikh sentiments’. Four AAP Members of Legislative Assembly in Delhi who asked BJP to remove the social media posts until the video is forensically tested, have been suspended from the Assembly for the rest of the winter session. Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has slammed the BJP for targeting Atishi and the Panjab police has said the video is doctored. Panjab Indian National Congress MLAs Pargat Singh and Sukhpal Singh Khaira re-posted the allegations against Atishi and the police filed First Information Reports (FIR) against them along with registering an FIR against Delhi Labor Minister Kapil Mishra. The Delhi Assembly has flagged Panjab police and sent them notice for breach of privilege for testing the video clip which is a property of the house. The Shiromani Akali Dal has also protested against Atishi. By creating this commotion, the BJP has effectively placed the major current issues of Delhi—air pollution and stray dogs—on the back burner.