Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday stirred controversy after he ostensibly referred to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is his "elder brother."
In a video shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya, Sidhu is seen being welcomed by a Pakistan official on behalf of Imran Khan.
"He (Imran Khan) is my elder brother," Sidhu is heard as saying.
Amit Malviya attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over Sidhu's remarks.
"Rahul Gandhi's favourite Navjot Singh Sidhu calls Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan his "bada bhai". Last time he had hugged Gen Bajwa, Pakistan Army's Chief, heaped praises. Is it any surprise that the Gandhi siblings chose a Pakistan loving Sidhu over veteran Amarinder Singh?" Malviya said in a tweet.
Congress MP Manish Tewari expressed his strong reservations over Sidhu's remarks and said Imran Khan is "cat's paw of Pakistani deep state ISI-Military combine" which carries out cross-border terrorism against India.
"Imran Khan may be anybody's elder brother but for India he is that cat's paw of Pak Deep State ISI-Military combine that drones arms and narcotics into Punjab and sends terrorists on a daily basis across LOC in Jammu and Kashmir. Have we forgotten martyrdom of our soldiers in Poonch so soon?" Tewari tweeted.
Punjab Minister Pargat Singh came in support of Sidhu and said that if Prime Minister visits Pakistan, then he called "Desh Premi (Country lover)" but Sidhu is being called "Desh drohi (anti-national)."
"When PM Modi goes (to Pakistan) he is a 'Desh Premi', when Sidhu goes, he is 'Desh Drohi'...Can't I call you a brother.. We follow Guru Nanak Dev's philosophy," the Punjab Minister told ANI.
At a press conference later, Sidhu did not give a direct answer to a question about BJP's allegations concerning his purported remarks about Imran Khan.
"Let BJP say whatever they want," he said.
Sidhu went to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor which was reopened earlier this week ahead of Parkash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev.
He expressed happiness over its reopening and credited it to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
"With the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan, this has been made possible," Sidhu said.
His visit came after a fresh tussle erupted in Punjab Congress following the exclusion of Sidhu's name from Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi-led delegation comprising state cabinet ministers that visited the Kartarpur Sahib on Thursday.
The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.
The corridor, which was opened in 2019, was closed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sidhu had attended oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan in 2018 and his hugging General Bajwa had created a major controversy.
( With inputs from ANI )
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