CM visits Punjab, condemns sacrilege of holy books

Slams cops for firing at protesters

Terming as “painful” the alleged incidents of desecration of holy books, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said it was a “willful act” to disturb Punjab.

He also prayed at the Golden Temple here for “return of peace” in the state.

It “is unfortunate and painful. It seems it is a willful act by somebody who wanted to disturb peace in the state,” Kejriwal told reporters here after arriving on his first visit to Punjab since becoming the chief minister in February and was set to meet families of two Sikhs killed in police firing during anti-desecration protests at Faridkot earlier this month.

The AAP leader condemned the police action, saying it was wrong to use force against people who were protesting peacefully against acts of sacrilege.

Kejriwal said it is the responsibility of Punjab government to arrest the culprits behind the incidents of desecration of holy books, adding no innocent person should be slapped with “false cases”.

He, however, refused to answer more queries, saying he was here to pray for peace in Punjab.

“Golden Temple has great spiritual power and I prayed before the Almighty for early peace and normalcy to get rid of current turmoil in Punjab,” he said after paying obeisance at the Sikh shrine.

Significant visit
His visit to Punjab assumes significance as the AAP is eyeing the 2017 Assembly polls and has restructured its unit in the state, where it won all its four seats in the last Lok Sabha election.

The fledgling AAP recently suspended two of the MPs for “anti-party” activities.
While paying obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, Kejriwal preferred to go inside along with other devotees, ignoring the VIP passage.
Thereafter, he also paid obeisance in front of Akal Takht.

Earlier, before entering the Golden Temple, he was honoured with Siropa (robe of honour) and presented a set of Sikh religious books at the information centre.
However, he did not register his visit in the visitors’ book of the shrine.

After paying obeisance, he went to Kotkapura by road to meet families of the two persons killed in police firing.