Don’t know who Chawla is: Sidhu
CHANDIGARH: Finding himself in the centre of controversy following his picture with pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla in Pakistan, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu defended himself by insisting he did not know who Chawla was.
The former cricketer, back after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Pakistani section of the Kartarpur corridor, told reporters in Attari: “During the day-long function (at Kartarpur on Wednesday), I was captured in 5,000-10,000 photographs. I don’t know who was Gopal Chawla.”
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During the daylong function (at Kartarpur on Wednesday), I was captured in 5,00010,000 photographs. I don’t know who was Gopal Chawla NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU , Panjab minister
CHANDIGARH: Navjot Singh Sidhu found himself in the centre of a controversy on his return to India on Thursday after pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla posted a photo of himself with the Congress politician in Pakistan, where both attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Pakistani section of the Kartarpur corridor.
With the picture going viral on Facebook, Sidhu was bombarded with queries from journalists as soon as he crossed into India via the Wagah border. But the Punjab local bodies minister appeared to make light of the matter, simply claiming that he did not know who Chawla was.
“During the day-long function (at Kartarpur on Wednesday), I was captured in 5,000-10,000 photographs. I don’t know who was Gopal Chawla,” Sidhu told reporters in Attari.
Chawla is a prominent face of the Sikh separatist movement and is an office-bearer of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
He is believed to be close to Jamaat ud Dawa terrorist Hafiz Saeed. A photo of Chawla with Saeed is also on social media.
The picture of Sidhu and Chawla was uploaded hours after the pro-Khalistan leader was seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa at the event. Chawla’s Facebook post is captioned “with sedu pa g” (with brother Sidhu).
Chawla’s name figured in probe into the November 18 grenade attack on a congregation at Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar which killed three people.
“I have come back after connecting the hearts of both Punjabs (east and west)... As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said, war can’t happen between both the countries. It is expected that India’s borders with Pakistan in Amritsar and Ferozepur districts may soon be opened,” said Sidhu.