Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir on Saturday criticised Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu over his comments where he called Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan his ‘big brother’.
“Send your son or daughter to the border and then call a terrorist state’s head your big brother,” Gambhir said in a tweet using the hashtags ‘spineless’ and ‘disgusting’.
Earlier in the day, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday during his visit to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan called the Pakistan prime minister his ‘elder brother’. “Imran Khan is my elder brother. I am greatly honoured. He gave us a lot of love,” Sidhu was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“I am thankful to Imran Khan for taking the first step and on the other side India responded with two steps. I already said that those favouring the corridor would have blessings and those opposing it had no value,” Sidhu said, further adding that both nations should resume trade ties. “ I request Modi sahab and Khan sahab to open the doors. Trade has a $275,000 crore potential,” Sidhu further added.
Sidhu’s comments brought widespread condemnation from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with some leaders asking if Congress leaders see Khan in the same light. The party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Congress considers Islamic State and Boko Haram ideologies to be akin to those of Hindutva but finds ‘bhai jaan’ in Khan. Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema called Sidhu's comment a ‘publicity stunt’ and said that it should be ignored.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu’s comments brought widespread condemnation from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with some leaders asking if Congress leaders see Khan in the same light. The party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Congress considers Islamic State and Boko Haram ideologies to be akin to those of Hindutva but finds ‘bhai jaan’ in Khan. Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema called Sidhu's comment a ‘publicity stunt’ and said that it should be ignored.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu’s remarks also angered his own party’s parliamentarian Manish Tewari as well. “Imran Khan may be anybody's elder brother but for India he is that cat's paw of Pakistan’s 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 the martyrdom of our soldiers in Poonch so soon?” Tiwari said in a tweet.
Punjab minister Pargat Singh came to Sidhu’s rescue and questioned why the Punjab Congress chief is called a ‘traitor’ desh drohi whenever he visits Pakistan. “When PM Modi goes to Pakistan) he is a 'Desh Premi', when Sidhu visits he is 'Desh Drohi'. Can't I call you a brother? We follow Guru Nanak Dev's philosophy,” Pargat was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.