Forced haircut evokes protests in Parliament

The forced haircut of a Sikh boy in Jaipur triggered a clash between the Bharatiya Janata Party-Akali Dal and the Congress over the issue of protection of minorities with the rival sides targeting each other over their 'poor' record.

The issue, which forced two adjournments, was raised by Congress member Madhusudan Mistry as soon as the House met for the day. He alleged that minorities were not safe in BJP-ruled states, evoking sharp protests from Opposition benches.

Verbal duel ensued between the Congress and Opposition members and Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the House till 11.15 am. Similar scenes were witnessed again when the House met after adjournment. But normalcy was restored when the Speaker said the matter could be discussed during Zero Hour.

When the House re-assembled, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa of the Akali Dal said the Sikh boy had tried to stop four hooligans from eve teasing. The miscreants caught hold of the Sikh boy, cut his hair and insulted him.

Karan

Singh Yadav of the Congress party said the incident had created a lot of discontentment among Sikhs. The incident was condemned by the Speaker.

The incident found echo in the Rajya Sabha as well with members, cutting across party lines, demanding stern action against the culprits. The matter was raised by S S Ahluwalia (BJP) during Zero Hour who said such incidents deeply hurt the sentiments of Sikhs and, therefore, stern action should be taken against the culprits.  

Ahluwalia said he was 'feeling weak' at this moment because of the tragic incident. However, almost all members said he need not feel alone as the entire House was with him on this issue and demanded strong action against the culprits to prevent such incidents in future.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was in the House at the time, said the Rajasthan government had started taking action and two police officers had been suspended. He assured the members that adequate action will be taken and justice will be delivered.