Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Anil Baluni on Thursday slammed former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat for referring to Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa as ‘brother’. The Rajya Sabha MP said it was hurtful to see that the senior Congress leader referred to someone as ‘brother’ whose ‘hands were bloody due to the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers at the nation’s borders’.
Baluni also attacked Rawat and said that his statements were an affront to the people of Uttarakhand, where almost every family has a member in the armed forces.
Rawat in a Facebook post justified his statement and said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi can greet and hug then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, how is seditious for Sidhu to hug Bajwa since both are Punjabis, referring to the fact that both belong to undivided Punjab before the Partition of India.
Rawat also criticised Baluni and said that he does not need lectures on nationalism. “Anil Baluni ji does not need to remind me of the military tradition of Uttarakhand. My family, from soldier to brigadier, are glorified in various positions. I am also proud that my son-in-law was martyred in Kashmir fighting terrorism, so I don't need lectures from BJP on nationalism,” Rawat said.
{{/usCountry}}Rawat also criticised Baluni and said that he does not need lectures on nationalism. “Anil Baluni ji does not need to remind me of the military tradition of Uttarakhand. My family, from soldier to brigadier, are glorified in various positions. I am also proud that my son-in-law was martyred in Kashmir fighting terrorism, so I don't need lectures from BJP on nationalism,” Rawat said.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu’s appointment gave the Bharatiya Janata Party a fresh chance to criticise the Congress claiming that several senior Congress leaders themselves expressed their concern at Sidhu’s recent elevation as Punjab state unit president of the party.
Sidhu was chosen to lead Congress in Punjab which is heading to the polls next year. Soon after his elevation, his differences with former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh came to the fore. The differences led to fellow MLAs rebelling against Singh and also led to Punjab getting a new chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a year ahead of the polls.