Chandigarh, Oct 12 (PTI) BJP leader and senior advocate H S Phoolka on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party of attempting to create a false narrative about the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib incident during a protest in Delhi.
AAP has condemned the alleged entry of Delhi Police personnel into Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in the national capital on Saturday.
A controversy has erupted over police allegedly entering the gurdwara premises as some protesters, facing police action during demonstrations against the chief election commissioner, sought refuge there.
Targeting AAP, Phoolka said that attempts to turn a sacred place such as Gurdwara Sahib into a venue for political demonstrations were “deeply unfortunate”.
He rejected AAP’s claims that people had been detained from the premises of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.
Phoolka also challenged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to release video to substantiate his allegations that women were mistreated within the gurdwara premises.
Mannon Sunday condemned the alleged entry of police personnel into Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, accusing them of having a “Taliban-like attitude” and violating the sanctity of the shrine.
Phoolka stated that the protesters entered the area inside the gurdwara’s entrance gate, where they displayed posters, raised slogans and delivered political speeches.
He said the ‘sevadars’ of the gurdwara attempted to stop the protesters, but they did not heed the management’s instructions.
According to Phoolka, most of the protesters were supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Phoolka claimed that the Delhi Police remained outside the main entrance gate of the gurdwara and that the protesters were taken into custody from outside.
He also stated that the sevadars had made it clear to the police that the religious decorum of the gurdwara should be respected and that action should not be taken within its premises.
He alleged that AAP subsequently released a video of the police and attempted to present it as footage of an incident inside the gurdwara complex.
However, according to Phoolka, the pathway visible in the video was outside the complex.
He said the complete CCTV footage and all available videos should be examined impartially to establish the facts of the incident.
Phoolka said that Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party should rise above politics, respect the sanctity and traditions of religious institutions, and refrain from actions that could disturb peace in Punjab.
Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon too hit out at AAP, alleging that it attempted to malign the sanctity of the historic Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi by violating Sikh religious traditions and ‘Gur Maryada’ for its political interests.
Dhillon said gurdwaras are centres of faith and devotion for the Sikh community, but AAP had not spared even this sacred place in pursuit of its political interests.
He said that videos showed AAP protesters entering the gurdwara premises with placards, raising political slogans and causing a commotion.
He emphasised that there are numerous platforms for political activities, and said disturbing the sanctity and religious decorum of a gurdwara is highly condemnable. PTI CHS KVK
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