SAD should clear stand on Modi remark: Khaira

Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Khaira on Saturday asked the Shiromani Akali Dal to clarify its stand on alliance partner BJP leader Narendra Modi's "communal remarks". Referring to Modi's recent interview, Khaira said the Gujarat chief minister had called himself a Hindu nationalist and had not expressed regret for the 2002 riots.

Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Khaira on Saturday asked the Shiromani Akali Dal to clarify its stand on alliance partner BJP leader Narendra Modi's "communal remarks". Referring to Modi's recent interview, Khaira said the Gujarat chief minister had called himself a Hindu nationalist and had not expressed regret for the 2002 riots.

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Rather, he claimed, Modi had rubbed salt into the wounds of minorities. The SAD condemns the 1984 anti-Sikh riots but prefers to stay silent on the Gujarat riots, Khaira said, adding the Election Commission should de-recognise the BJP as Modi's statement flouted secular norms.