AAP MLA objects to party members' statement over sacrilege cases probe

Senior AAP leader and MLA Aman Arora on Saturday said he was hurt by "negative" statement of the party's Punjab unit over the probe into the incidents of sacrilege of religious scriptures in 2015.

AAP's Punjab unit had on Friday said it has lost all hopes of justice in the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and police firing incidents in 2015, "given the way probe by the central and state government agencies was pushing it into oblivion".

The statement was issued by Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema and other MLAs on Friday.

Hinting that "all is not well" between him and rest of the party members, Sangrur MLA Arora, while reacting to the statement, said there was no doubt that in the last four years, successive Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) and Congress-led governments and the CBI had "done nothing" in the 2015 sacrilege incidents to deliver justice.

"But that does not mean that AAP despite being principal opposition party in the state should leave all hopes to get justice to the people of the state," he added.

"Such a negative statement has hurt me," he said.

He emphasized that hopes to get justice in 2015 sacrilege incidents needed to be kept alive and said "the day AAP assumes power in Punjab, justice will be delivered and culprits will be behind bars in no time".

Arora said, the state leadership, before issuing such a "negative and demoralizing" statement, 0should not forget that AAP is a "product of agitation".

"Had its national convener Arvind Kejriwal left his agitation midway, Delhi today would not have got an honest and transparent government," he said.