Punjab finance minister questions Pargat Singh's stance on anti-sacrilege bill

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday questioned newly appointed Punjab Congress chief Pargat Singh over his stand on the anti-sacrilege bill and asked why he did not raise the issues of drug abuse and sacrilege when he was in the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Cheema also targeted Singh's record as sports and education minister in the previous Congress government, a day after the Congress appointed him as the state unit chief following Amrinder Singh Raja Warring's resignation.

The Congress replaced Warring after weeks of internal rift over the state leadership, which threatened to affect the party's campaign for the Assembly elections due early next year.

Speaking to reporters on Singh's appointment, Cheema said the former Olympian began his political career with the SAD.

He alleged that when the Akalis were in power, Singh never raised the issues of the drug scourge and sacrilege incidents related to the Guru Granth Sahib, and remained silent on both matters during the Akali regime.

Cheema further claimed that when the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Assembly, Singh had said that one faction of the Congress supported the bill while another did not.

“I want to ask the new Punjab Congress president which faction of the Congress he was leading now,” Cheema said.

Questioning Singh's performance in the previous government, Cheema alleged that he had “badly failed” as sports and education minister.

Referring to the recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors during Singh's tenure as education minister, Cheema said the Supreme Court had set aside the process for bypassing the rules on selection.

Cheema also said that despite Singh's sports background, only a “miniscule” sports budget was kept when he held the portfolio.

Singh began his political journey in 2012 when he contested the Assembly elections on a SAD ticket from Jalandhar Cantonment and defeated a Congress candidate.

He was suspended from the SAD in 2016, later joined the Congress, and won from Jalandhar Cantt in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly polls. Cheema's remarks brought together questions over Singh's position on sacrilege, his silence during the Akali regime, and his record in government.