NEW DELHI: The AAP on Thursday claimed that its delegation was 'denied' permission to visit the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan, blaming the Centre and the Punjab government for the same.
The party had on Wednesday said the Punjab MLAs under the leadership of state unit chief Bhagwant Mann would pay obeisance at Kartarpur Sahib on November 19 on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev's 'Parkash Utsav'.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha, in a tweet, shared a purported communication by the Centre to the Punjab government regarding the political clearance for the visit of ministers and MLAs to the shrine over three days.
"AAP delegation has been denied permission to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib by Modi-Channi duo. It is clear that as per a tactical understanding between PM Modi and CM Channi, only Channi and his men are permitted to visit. The match-fixing between Modi & Channi has surfaced yet again," he said.
Chadha, the co-incharge of the party's political affairs in Punjab, also shared a list of the Punjab government delegation approved by the Centre, on the microblogging site.
Reacting on the matter, AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it is wrong to prevent one from bowing down in "Guru Maharaj ji's darbar on the day of Guru Parv".
"Such politics is not good for the country and society. Even an enemy should not be stopped from bowing down and offering prayers in the court of Guru Maharaj ji," he tweeted.
Later in a video message, Chadha said the AAP had submitted an application to both the Centre and the Punjab government, requesting for giving political clearance and permission to the party delegation to visit Kartarpur Sahib.
"But, both the Modi government and Channi-led dispensation in Punjab denied giving permission to the AAP delegation to bow down in the court of Kartarpur Sahib," he added.
On the other hand, he claimed, the Punjab Congress delegation "did not face any problem" in getting the permission.
Channi and some of his Cabinet ministers on Thursday offered prayers at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, travelling there through the visa-free Kartarpur corridor that reopened after a gap of 20 months.
The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.