SAD, Cong unleash poster war
SAD, Cong supporters put up posters of rival party’s leaders embracing Pak state heads
It seems Sidhu has taken on the role of Imran Khan (Pakistan PM). The pyres of our jawans were burning when Sidhu was marketing Pakistan. TARUN CHUGH, national secretary, BJP
JALANDHAR : Politics over the Pulwama attack took a turn for the worse after the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) indulged in war of posters, where the supporters of each party put up posters of the other’s party leaders embracing Pakistani leaders.
On Friday morning, posters of local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu embracing Pakistan Army chief general Qamar Javed Bajwa were put up at major locations of the city such as the Model Town market, Doaba Chowk, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar and on the ‘neki ki diwar’ (wall of kindness) outside Guru Gobind Singh Stadium.
The pictures bore the caption “Sidhu general Bajwa da yaar, desh da gaddar,” (Sidhu is a friend of the Pakistan Army chief and a traitor of our nation).
Sidhu had found himself embroiled in a controversy after his comments on the Pulwama terror attack.
Though, the Congress supporters took down the posters by the afternoon, in an act of retaliation, they put up posters of SAD lead- ers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal with former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif around 4pm at the Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Shekhon Grand Chowk and Ramada Chowk.
The posters read, “Kinne desh khadda, kinne Punjab khadda, kine panth khadda, Oh duniya nu pata’ (Who betrayed the coun- try, who betrayed Punjab, who betrayed religion, everyone knows it).these posters were later torn down by the Youth Akali Dal.
Jalandhar Youth Congress general secretary Jagdeep Singh Sonu said, “We stand with Navjot Singh Sidhu.he is an untainted leader. He has served this country as a cricketer and a politician. The opposition is trying to defame him. We have strongly condemned the Pulwama attack. Sidhu did not say anything wrong.”
While the Congress openly displayed SAD-BJP leaders’ posters, the district Youth Akali Dal (YAD) did not claim responsibility for the Sidhu-general Bajwa posters. Youth Akali leader Sukhminder Singh Rajpal said, “They are using the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 44 jawans to play dirty politics. Our party has openly condemned Navjot Singh Sidhu for his comments on the Pulwama attack.
“He is being criticized across the country. He should apologise for his statement but we are not responsible for those posters,” he said.
BJP NATIONAL SECY CRITICISES SIDHU
“It seems Sidhu has taken on the role of Imran Khan (Pakistan PM). Here, the pyres of our 44 jawans were burning when Sidhu was busy marketing for Pakistan,” said Tarun Chugh, national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), during the ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat’ programme here on Friday.chugh condemned the ongoing attacks on Kashmiri people in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.