Row over hug: Sidhu says hurt, Imran bats for him
CHANDIGARH: Punjab minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Tuesday that he was hurt and disappointed with the criticism from within his party and the BJP over his “emotional meeting” with the Pakistan army chief during the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan as the neighbouring country’s prime minister on August 18.
Without naming CM Capt Amarinder Singh, who disapproved of his hugging Pakistan army chief general Qamar Javed Bajwa, Sidhu said, “The state (Punjab) unit president of my party, Sunil Jakhar, has stood by me but some people criticised me. This is democracy and everyone has the right to share his viewpoint.”
“General Bajwa met me with enthusiasm after seeing me in the first row. Immediately, he told me that they were making efforts to open the corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib, 3 km in Pakistan, so that pilgrims could pay obeisance on the 550th Prakash Diwas of Guru Nanak Dev ji,” he said. “This was an emotional moment and the result (the hug) was for all to see,” he said.
On his part, Khan thanked Sidhu for attending hisswearing-in and said those targeting him in India were “doing great disservice to peace in the subcontinent”. “He was an ambassador of peace and was given amazing love and affection by the people of Pakistan. Those in India who targeted him are doing a great disservice to peace in the subcontinent,” Khan tweeted.
But the BJP continued to snipe at Sidhu for “drawing equivalence” between his visit and those by former PM Vajpayee and PM Narendra Modi.