The ongoing standoff between the Punjab government and the Akal Takht over the recently enacted Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026 has intensified, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann firmly declining any move to repeal or amend the law.During his state-wide ‘Shukrana Yatra’ in Sangrur, the Chief Minister asserted that the legislation has already come into force following the Governor’s approval, leaving no scope for reconsideration. “The law has been enacted and implemented. The question of repealing or altering it does not arise,” Mann said.He also questioned the objections raised by Sikh institutions, remarking that governance and lawmaking remain the prerogative of the elected government. Mann further claimed that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had, in 2007, authorised the state to legislate on matters related to the sanctity of the Guru Granth Sahib, which led to the enactment of the original 2008 law.Launching a scathing attack on ‘Badals’, he said, “Actually, a family which is their ‘political boss’, under whose tenure the sacrilege incidents had occurred, did not like it. What have I done? I have just endorsed the demand of the Sikh community and constituted stringent law against the ‘beadbi’. I would say that anyone who opposes the new anti-sacrilege law would be ‘stone hearted’.Refuting the claims of the CM, the SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the ‘absolute’ and ‘exclusive’ rights under the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, were reserved with the SGPC only, not the government.Clarifying the Akal Takht’s stance, Dhami said the demand was not to repeal the 2026 amendment, but to revise specific provisions that are inconsistent with Sikh tenets and the Rehat Maryada.“We welcome stringent punishment, including life imprisonment and fines, for those guilty of sacrilege. However, certain clauses need reconsideration in light of the sanctity of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and established Sikh principles. I hope that he will get it done within 15 days,” Dhami said.The CM is on a state-wide Shukrana Yatra to express “gratitude” for the implementation of the (Amendment) Act, 2026, which has provision of stricter punishment, including life imprisonment and fines up to Rs 25 lakh for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.On Friday, after summoning the Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan at the Akal Takht Secretariat, the acting Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj had given a 15-day ultimatum to the Punjab government to remove contentious provisions.The Jathedar raised concerns that some clauses could undermine Sikh institutional autonomy and wrongly classify religious functionaries — such as granthis, pathis and gurdwara committees — as liable under criminal law in the event of sacrilege incidents.The Jathedar warned that these provisions could create fear among ordinary Sikhs and potentially distance them from their religious practices and the Guru Granth Sahib.