Split wide open in Cong over Capt’s snub to Pak
CONG VS CONG Brahm Mohindra, Rana KP come out in support of Amarinder; Sukhjinder Randhawa says he would have gone, if invited
CHANDIGARH : A day after Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh rejected the invite of Pakistan to attend groundbreaking ceremony for Kartarpur Sahib corridor on Wednesday, his stand split the Congress government and the party.
Jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the Sikh community is thankful to Imran Khan government for opening up the corridor. “They have done so on our request. As a Sikh, I would have attended the ceremony, if invited,” he said.
But health minister Brahm Mohindra hailed CM’s stand saying he has conveyed a strong message in unambiguous terms to Pakistan that “we are not blind to their machinations of disturbing and sabotaging the peace in our country and state”.
“I have seen dark days of militancy in Punjab. Not everyone is optimistic about Pakistan’s intentions. Why are they opening the corridor now,” he said.
Assembly speaker Rana KP Singh too hailed the CM’s move saying Amarinder is as true a Sikh as he is a nationalist. “The Pakistani army will never let peace prevail between the two countries and they can sabotage it anytime,” Rana said.
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, who has supported local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu accepting Imran’s invite, saying the corridor opens doors to peace between the two nations, too, did a balancing act on Monday by hailing Captain’s stand.
“It is a principled stand taken in the best interests of Punjab. Amarinder’s concerns are not misplaced, and unlike BJP and Akali Dal leaders, who have hopped onto the bandwagon, he has been steadfast in his stand,” Jakhar said in a statement.
On his party’s stand on Sidhu accepting the invite, Jakhar said the stands taken by Sidhu and CM are not contradictory. “Sidhu is opening Track-II diplomacy with Pak and is not going as a government nominee but as Imran’s friend. His contribution towards opening the corridor cannot be undermined. But Amarinder has taken a principled stand as the head of state. The corridor would be held hostage every time there is a terror activity or tension on the borders or infiltration,” Jakhar said.
Sidhu, who does not have many friends in Amarinder’s cabinet and is a lone ranger, remained away from Monday’s stone-laying ceremony at Dera Baba Nanak, saying he does not want to play any politics over the issue and is going to Pakistan with CM’s consent. But the CM rebuffed him for accepting the invite saying it was “his personal thinking”.
Sikhs are thankful to Imran Khan govt for the corridor. They have done so on our request. Beng a Sikh, I would have attended the ceremony, if invited. SUKHJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA, Jails and cooperation minister
It is a principled stand taken in the best interests of Punjab. Unlike BJP and Akali Dal leaders, who have hopped onto the bandwagon, Capt has been steadfast in his stand. SUNIL JAKHAR, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief
Chief minister Capt Amarinder is as true a Sikh as he is a nationalist. The Pakistani army will never let peace prevail between the two countries and they can sabotage it anytime. RANA KP SINGH, Assembly speaker.
After Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal concluded her address and moved to her seat, Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa stood up from his chair and chose a seat far away from Harsimrat’s