'Taliban-Like Attitude': Bhagwant Mann Slams Delhi Police Over Bangla Sahib Video

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the alleged entry of Delhi Police personnel into Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, accusing them of disrespecting the Sikh shrine and displaying a 'Taliban-like attitude'.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday condemned the alleged entry of Delhi Police personnel into Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, accusing them of disrespecting the Sikh shrine during police action against protesters in the national capital. In his social media post, Mann accused the police of displaying a 'Taliban-like attitude' and violating the sanctity of the religious institution. He said gurdwaras have traditionally offered shelter to people in need and argued that protesters who entered the premises should have been given refuge.

He post X read: "I strongly condemn in the harshest terms the BJP's police forcibly entering Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib in Delhi yesterday... History bears witness that the Guru's abode always keeps its doors open to provide shelter to the needy... If the youth of this country protesting yesterday had entered there, the principle of the Guru's house is that the sevadars would grant them shelter...

The BJP's Delhi police, with their Taliban-like attitude, entered Gurdwara Sahib bareheaded and wearing boots on their feet, and the dignity of the Guru's house was trampled by them... The Sikh community will never forgive the BJP for this shameful act..."

ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਦਿੱਲੀ ਵਿੱਖੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਬੰਗਲਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੀਜੇਪੀ ਦੀ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਜਬਰਨ ਦਾਖਲ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਿੰਦਾ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ... ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਗਵਾਹ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਘਰ ਤਾਂ ਜ਼ਰੂਰਤਮੰਦਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਰਨ ਦੇਣ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੇ ਦਰਵਾਜ਼ੇ ਹਮੇਸ਼ਾ ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਰੱਖਦੇ ਨੇ...ਜੇ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਪ੍ਰੋਟੈਸਟ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਇਸ ਦੇਸ਼ ਦੇ ਨੌਜਵਾਨ ਓਥੇ ਦਾਖਲ ਹੋ ਗਏ ਤਾਂ ਗੁਰੂ ਘਰ ਦਾ ਸਿਧਾਂਤ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸੇਵਾਦਾਰ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਰਨ ਦੇਣ...

ਤਾਲਿਬਾਨੀ ਰਵੱਈਏ ਵਾਲੀ ਬੀਜੇਪੀ ਦੀ ਦਿੱਲੀ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਨੰਗੇ ਸਿਰ ਤੇ ਪੈਰਾਂ 'ਚ ਬੂਟ ਪਾ ਕੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਾਖਲ ਹੋਈ ਤੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਗੁਰੂ ਘਰ ਦੀ ਮਰਿਯਾਦਾ ਨੂੰ ਰੋਲਿਆ ਗਿਆ... ਸਿੱਖ ਕੌਮ ਇਸ ਸ਼ਰਮਨਾਕ ਹਰਕਤ ਲਈ ਬੀਜੇਪੀ ਨੂੰ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਮੁਆਫ਼ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰੇਗੀ...

- Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) October 11, 2026

The controversy erupted after a video showing police personnel inside the gurdwara premises circulated on social media.

Modi, as PM, is an embarrassment to India.

Never has this country seen a bigger coward and bully.

- Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 11, 2026

Delhi Police rejected the allegations surrounding the footage, claiming it was being shared with malicious intent and announcing that legal action would be initiated.

However, strongly criticising the incident, Mann accused the BJP-led police administration in Delhi of disrespecting the religious institution.

He said the doors of the Guru's house had historically remained open to those seeking shelter. Referring to the protesters who reportedly entered the premises while facing police action, Mann said the principle of the gurdwara was to provide them with refuge.

The Punjab Chief Minister also objected to the alleged presence of police personnel wearing shoes and without their heads covered inside the premises.

Mann said the Sikh community would not forgive the BJP for what he described as a shameful act. His remarks added a political dimension to the dispute over the police presence at the prominent Sikh shrine.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma defended the personnel seen in the footage, disputing the suggestion that they had entered the main prayer area in the manner alleged.

In a post on X on Saturday, Sharma said the officers were walking through a common passage used by devotees to reach the designated area where they remove their shoes before entering the gurdwara.

He alleged that the video was being circulated deliberately to outrage the feelings of a religious community and disturb religious harmony.

Delhi Police also said it would initiate legal action over the circulation of the footage, describing it as misleading and malicious.

Regarding the video circulated on social media, alleging entry by police staff in Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, wherein some police staff is shown wearing shoes

In the circulated video some police staff is shown walking in the common passage, used by all devotees to reach the point where shoes are taken off to enter the Gurdwara.

The process is the same for all devotees coming to Gurdwara. The video showing the same is attached.

The video has been circulated deliberately with malicious intent, to outrage the feelings of a respectable religious community and is prejudicial to the religious harmony.

Legal action is being initiated.

- DCP New Delhi (@DCPNewDelhi) October 10, 2026

@DelhiPolice see what is the truth! Viral video of man entering Gurdwara Bangla Sahib wearing shoes, completely fake conspiracy! There is only the outer common path, where every devotee walks wearing shoes. Legal action initiated against those who incite religious sentiments.

- Adv Kalpana (@LawyerKalpana) October 10, 2026

The police response has placed the focus on the route taken by the personnel and the circumstances in which they entered the premises, with competing claims emerging over the incident.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief, Harmeet Singh Kalka, also weighed in on the controversy, accusing Aam Aadmi Party leaders of politicising the issue and defaming the religious institution.

Kalka alleged that some protesters had entered the gurdwara premises carrying placards and raising slogans as part of their demonstration. He said staff members intervened to stop them from forcing their way into the hall.

#delhiprotests #gurdwara #politics #dsgmc #cec Harmeet Singh Kalka (@hskalka) October 10, 2026

Questioning the criticism of police personnel who entered the premises, Kalka argued that the police had intervened after demonstrators entered the gurdwara.

His remarks differed sharply from Mann's account, with the two sides disputing whether the police presence represented an unjustified intrusion or a response to protesters entering the premises.

The incident took place amid heightened tensions in Delhi on Saturday, when thousands of protesters attempted to reach Jantar Mantar for a demonstration organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).

The protest was directed against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with the CJP and opposition parties demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Delhi Police detained more than 7,000 protesters at several locations as security arrangements prevented demonstrators from reaching the protest site.

(With inputs from agencies)

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