Chandigarh, September 15
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has strongly condemned the recent incident of desecration occurred at Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, terming it unfortunate and disturbing for the peaceful atmosphere of the state. The AAP alleged that by committing such heinous acts, the anti-social elements were trying to disturb the peace and harmony of Punjab before the forthcoming assembly elections.
In a joint statement issued from the party headquarters here on Wednesday, AAP MLAs Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Prof Baljinder Kaur, Amarjit Singh Sandoa and Jai Singh Rodi, demanded from the Congress government to conduct a fair and time-bound probe by forming a committee of retired judges under the supervision of the High Court; stating that they do not have faith in the Punjab Police and in the working of the Badals-controlled Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
The AAP leaders said, “Why such heart-wrenching incidents occur just before the elections? Besides failure of the government, such incidents indicate occurrence under a specific plan, which aims to damage religious sentiments and weaken the social brotherhood. The people of Punjab need to be vigilant about such incidents.” They alleged that efforts were being made for a long time to create a sense of suspicion among the people by dividing Punjab on communal and religious grounds and this was part of the same series.
The AAP leader further said that the perpetrators of desecration were in high spirits as the government had not taken any concrete action in previous incidents of sacrilege. “If exemplary punishment had been given in previous sacrilege cases; then no one would have dared to commit such acts again,” they added. The leaders said that the incident also casts doubt on the arrangements and plans of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
