Khetan should be forgiven for 'unknowingly' hurting religious sentiments: Sanjay Singh

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday said AAP spokesperson Ashish Khetan should be forgiven for unknowingly hurting the religious sentiments of the people in Punjab.

An FIR has been registered against Khetan under Section 295 A (hurting religious sentiments).

"Yesterday, Ashish Khetan apologised publically and his statements had no intention to hurt the religious sentiments of anybody. People whose sentiments got hurt because of his statement, I am apologising to them with folded hands," Singh said.

Singh said Khetan readily accepted his mistake and apologised for the same in public.

"Now, if we go by the teachings of religious books, then all these religious books state that if anybody asks for forgiveness, he/she should be forgiven," Singh added.

While launching his party's youth manifesto in Amritsar on Saturday, Khetan had spoken about the booklet in the same breath as religious books like the Guru Granth Sahib and the Gita.

Khetan has been accused of hurting religious sentiments as the booklet used an image of the Sikh shrine Golden Temple along with Arvind Kejriwal and AAP's election symbol 'the broom', which provoked various Sikh groups.

The party also apologised for the picture of its symbol, alongside the image of the Darbar Sahib on its manifesto.

This is the second instance of police action against the AAP functionaries in recent times in Punjab.

Earlier, AAP legislator Naresh Yadav was questioned on June 24 in connection with Quran sacrilege in Malerkotla in Sangrur district.

The AAP is seen as a strong contender in the 2017 Punjab elections, hoping to expand its base beyond Delhi, where it got a decisive mandate.