In the backdrop of political parties criticising his party for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has decided to visit the Golden temple on July 18 to perform ‘sewa’ (volunteer service) to seek apology on behalf of his party.
“like a humble sewak (volunteer) and a true ‘aam aadmi’ (common man), (Arvind) Kejriwalji will perform sewa at Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, on July 18, 2016,” AAP member and senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka said on Friday.
The AAP, which has been eyeing to wrest power in Punjab from the SAD-BJP combine in the 2017 Assembly polls, has been under fire from political opponents for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs.
The party has been facing the ire for using the image of Golden temple, Sikhs’ holiest shrine, on the cover of its youth poll manifesto with its election symbol ‘broom’ superimposed on it. The manifesto was released by Kejriwal on July 3 at Amritsar, on the first day of his three-day visit to Punjab.
That was not all! Political opponents, including the Congress and the SAD-BJP, have been hitting out at AAP leader Ashish Khetan for allegedly comparing the manifesto with Guru Granth Sahib and other religious books.
Despite Khetan tendering an apology while admitting his “mistake”, SAD-BJP and Congress have been unsparing in their attack on the AAP and in terming the act “sacrilege”.
Rejecting Khetan’s apology, SAD has sought an apology from Kejriwal on the issue.
On microblogging website Twitter, Phoolka wrote, “We will apologise from Guru. But will take Badals head on, they have been using the Sikh Panth for their personal gains.’
In another tweet, Phoolka wrote, “Badals using SGPC for their political motives. Makkar should resign as president SGPC for adopting double standard.”
The senior lawyer, in yet another tweet, wrote, “Reply to Badal’s demand for @ArvindKejriwal apology - when Majithia distorted Gurbani - did Badal apologized, did SGPC registered FIR.”
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar, only a day before, had announced that the Committee would file a court case against Kejriwal and authors of the manifesto Kanwar Singh Sandhu and Ashish Khetan for the “blasphemous act”.
The AAP accused the Badal Government of adopting double standard, citing a 2014 incident ahead of the lok Sabha polls, when Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had allegedly distorted a hymn (shabad) of tenth Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh while campaigning for BJP candidate from Amritsar Arun Jaitley saying that too was an act of hurting sentiments.