SIDHU SUMMONS ADVISERS WHO REMAIN DEFIANT
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjoy Singh Sidhu summoned his advisers Malvinder Singh Mali and Pyare Lal Garg in Patiala on Monday, a day after chief minister Amarinder Singh took strong exception to their recent remarks on Kashmir and Pakistan. However, both remained defiant, with Mali saying after the meeting that his controversial comments are “final” and Garg saying the meeting was on issues concerning the development of Punjab.
IN A FACEBOOK POST LAST WEEK, MALI HAD DESCRIBED KASHMIR AS AS A “COUNTRY OF KASHMIRI PEOPLE.”
NEW DELHI: Malvinder S Mali, an advisor to Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, said on Monday his recent controversial comments on Jammu and Kashmir, made on social media, are “final.”
Meanwhile, Pyare Lal Garg, another advisor, who, along with Mali, was summoned by Sidhu over his controversial remarks, said discussions in the meeting were on issues concerning the development of Punjab.
“Whatever I had to say, I’ve said on social media, and that is final. If anyone makes a mistake, they should reflect. We must continue to work for the welfare of Punjab,” Mali said to the media after the meeting with
Sidhu, according to news agency ANI.
In a Facebook post last week, Mali had described Kashmir as as a “country of Kashmiri people.”
He had also questioned why Jammu and Kashmir has been “turned into an open jail” and for how long.
Separately, he had also posted a sketch of late former prime minister Indira Gandhi, in which she is seen standing near a heap of human skulls with a gun in her hand. A skull is seen hanging from the gun’s muzzle. Garg, on the other hand, courted controversy for questioning Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s frequent criticism of Pakistan. “Today, we spoke to Sidhu ji on the issues of the development of the state.
“When a government does good work, we appreciate it, but if it does poorly, then also we criticise it,” ANI quoted Garg as saying after the meeting. Both Mali and Garg were among four advisers appointed by Sidhu on August 11.
The other two appointees are Congress Lok Sabha MP Amar Singh and former IPS officer Mohammad Mustafa. Sidhu himself was made the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief on July 18 following a long-drawn feud with Singh.
The respective comments made by Mali and Garg have drawn fierce criticism from the chief minister, as well as Manish Tiwari, the Lok Sabha MP from Anandpur Sahib constituency in the northern state.
The former, an Army veteran, warned the duo against making “atrocious and ill-conceived” comments.
In a tweet, Tewari said, “I urge Harish Rawat, AICC Gen Secy in-charge Punjab to seriously introspect that those who do not consider J&K to be a part of India and others who have ostensibly Pro-Pakistan leanings should be a part of Punjab Congress.”He said such people mock all those who have shed blood for India.