Punjab Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former journalist Ashish Khetan for hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs.
The complaint was filed against Khetan in Amritsar by Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) after he reportedly compared the AAP manifesto with the holy book Guru Granth Sahib and other religious books while launching it in Amritsar.
A case under IPC section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) was registered against Khetan at Civil Lines police station in Amritsar on Tuesday night.
The complainant alleged that by using the image of Golden Temple on the cover page of the manifesto with the party’s election symbol of broom superimposed on it, sentiments of people had been hurt.
Police said they were investigating the matter.
On Tuesday, after facing criticism, AAP tendered an apology, saying it did not intend to “undermine any section of the society”.
“I had apologised yesterday and I again apologise. My intention was not to hurt anybody’s religious sentiments,” said Khetan.
Khetan in Khanna said the party never “intended to undermine any section, community or any individual”.
Earlier, Khetan had said the manifesto was “the Bible, Gita and Guru Granth Sahib” for him.
AAP also courted controversy for using the party symbol, a broom, next to an image of the Golden Temple. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said he will visit Golden Temple soon and apologize on behalf of the party.
