A former sarpanch and a close aide of minister of state Mahipal Dhanda, Shastri was recently served notice by Bhatt for getting involved in wrong means during the campaigning of BJP candidate from Karnal Lok Sabha seat and former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Sikh scholars have expressed misgivings with the BJP government's efforts to portray the Sikh Guru as a symbol against Muslims, with several of them insisting he died protecting the ethos of religious freedom.