On Tuesday, members of India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested near the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi against the vandalisation of Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh's statue in Lahore.
"Nearly 500 party workers are near the Pakistan High Commission, demanding an apology for the incident that happened in Lahore. Two of our top demands are – reinstatement of the statue in its former glory and strictest punishment for the member of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Labbaik party who carried out the attack," Mamta Kala, a leader of BJP's Delhi unit and party co-spokesperson, told Sputnik.
In footage shared by Indian news agency ANI, protesters can be seen chanting and condemning the incident as security personnel try to control them using barricades.
In December 2020, the same statue was targeted by far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik party members who objected to its presence in Pakistan because it portrays a Sikh ruler.
"We are going to write to the Pakistani authorities demanding immediate action against this act," Kala told Sputnik.
Earlier on Tuesday, India's Foreign Ministry criticised the Pakistan government, saying such attacks on the cultural heritage of minority communities highlight the "growing intolerance and lack of respect for minority communities in Pakistani society." The ministry also pointed to an assault 12 days ago on a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan.