Pulwama: Sidhu asked to leave Kapil Sharma show

CHANDIGARH/MUMBAI: Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been asked to leave ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ for his remarks after the Pulwama attack. Actress Archana Puran Singh will reportedly replace him.

According to a source close to the show, Sidhu will no longer be part of the Sony Entertainment Television comedy. The Punjab minister, who has been for several years part of Kapil’s show, had on Friday said: “Nations cannot be held responsible for the dastardly acts of terrorists. The terrorists do not have deen, mazhab (sect and religion). There are good, the bad and the ugly. Every institution has them. Every nation has them. The ugly need to be punished...”

Refusing to be drawn into the controversy over reports that he has been sacked from Kapil’s show, Sidhu on Saturday said he has no comments to offer on the reports. Sources close to Sidhu said the minister has no contract with Sony TV that airs the show. “There has to be a contract for anyone to sack him. Since Sidhu was busy in Punjab’s budget session this week, actor Archana Puran Singh shot two episodes. No one linked with the show has spoken to Sidhu about ending his association with it,” an aide of Sidhu said.

While the Pulwama attack evoked widespread condemnation and calls for action against Pakistan, Sidhu said the dialogue with Islamabad should continue. “Where ever wars are fought and such things (Pulwama type attack) happen, dialogue also continues simultaneously. There is a need to find a permanent solution to (issues between India and Pakistan). When a snake bites, its anti-dote is also snake poison,” Sidhu had said.

His comments led to a huge uproar, with hashtags like #BoycottSidhu #BoycottKapilSharmaShow and #BoycottSonyTV trending on Twitter.

Asked if the decision comes after his remarks, the Sony TV source said: “There might be other reasons as well, but this thing is surely one of them.”

In the worst ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers. After the strike, India rejected Pakistan foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua’s claims denying her country’s links to the attack, saying that JeM, which claimed responsibility for the strike, is based in Pakistan, and the “links are clear and evident and for all to see”.

Media distorts everything I say. One particular part of my statement on Pulwama attack has been played up. NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU, Punjab minister