National spokesperson of the Shirom Akali Dal (SAD) Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday said that the picture of him standing next to pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla at the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib was deceptively clicked by Chawla's gunman from behind.
In a video posted on Twitter, Sirsa said that Chawla entered his room at the Gurdwara while he was having tea and tried to initiate a conversation. When Sirsa refused and walked out of the room, Chawla's gunman deceptively took a picture from behind and circulated it on social media.
"When I was at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, Chawla specifically entered the room where I was drinking tea. He tried to talk to me, I refused and started walking out. His gunman took a picture from behind," Sirsa said in the video.
"I strongly condemn actions of Gopal Singh Chawla to click his pic with me to circulate on social media," said Sirsa and added that he would never meet people like Chawla who are "puppets" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and carry "anti-India agenda".
Sirsa was among the 500 Sikh pilgrims who reached Kartarpur on Tuesday to take part in the celebrations of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev at his birthplace on August 1.
( With inputs from ANI )