Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that a law should be made against forcible religious conversions but nobody should be wrongly harassed through it.

While stating that religion is a private matter and everyone has the right to worship, Kejriwal said, “Conversions done by scaring or offering any aid are totally wrong.” The Delhi chief minister was addressing a session with businessmen in Jalandhar.

Several states including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have brought in laws to regulate forcible religious conversions, while others such as Assam are also mulling similar laws.

On the issue of releasing 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Davinder Pal Bhullar, who is undergoing life imprisonment after the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence, Kejriwal condemned the Shiromani Akali Dal for “doing dirty politics” on a “very sensitive matter”.

Multiple Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have been accusing Delhi’s AAP government for the delay in Bhullar’s release.

Kejriwal said a sentence review board committee, comprising judicial and administrative officers, is looking into the matter, while adding that Delhi doesn’t have the status of a full state because of which issues related to law and order were with the lieutenant governor (LG).

“When the matter was brought into my knowledge, I asked the Delhi home secretary to call a meeting of the review board immediately, and put its decision before the LG,” he said.

The AAP chief also announced 10 new guarantees, including no new tax or hike in the existing rates, for the urban sector in poll-bound Punjab. The party has already announced a slew of sector-specific guarantees, to be fulfilled if voted to power in the state.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said sanitation was a common issue across cities, including Ludhiana, Bathinda, Amritsar and Jalandhar. “If the AAP is voted into power, we will provide best cleanliness facilities, including proper sewerage, drainage and solid waste management,” he said, while adding that all cables will be moved underground to beautify the cities and remove the danger posed by them.

The AAP chief, who was accompanied by party’s state president and CM face Bhagwant Mann, also promised to replicate the Delhi government’s initiative of providing government services at the citizens’ doorsteps, besides opening mohalla clinics, revamping civil hospitals, upgrading government schools, and providing round-the-clock power and water supply.

“We will cover the entire state with CCTV network for women’s safety and to control crime,” he said, while claiming that Delhi has more CCTV cameras than in New York, London and other big cities of the world. Keeping the traders’ interest in mind, he promised to repair roads in market areas and provide proper parking spaces and public toilets.
http://theendtimeradio.com