Punjab CM Amarinder Warns Sidhu’s Advisors Over ‘Atrocious, Ill-Conceived’ Comments Against India’s Interests
He asked Sidhu’s advisors “not to speak on matters of which they clearly had little or no knowledge and had no understanding of the implications of their comments”.
Chandigarh: Objecting to the recent statements made by two of the advisors of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday warned against such “atrocious and ill-conceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country”.
The Chief Minister urged the cricketer-turned-politician to rein in his advisors “before they end up doing more damage to India’s interests”.
He asked Sidhu’s advisors “not to speak on matters of which they clearly had little or no knowledge and had no understanding of the implications of their comments”.
The Chief Minister, who was responding to Sidhu’s advisor Pyare Lal Garg’s recent questioning of his criticism of Pakistan and a previous comment by another Sidhu aide Malwinder Singh Mali on Kashmir, expressed shock at the “extraordinary statements”.
He added the statements were “totally misplaced and antagonistic” to the stated position of India and the Congress on Pakistan and Kashmir.
Asserting “Kashmir was and is an inalienable part of India”, Singh said Mali had effectively and inexplicably toed Islamabad's line.
Taking potshots at Mali for failing to withdraw his statement despite widespread condemnation, he said “this is totally anti-national”.
He also criticized Garg’s statement that his criticism of Pakistan was not in the interest of Punjab and said Sidhu's advisor was clearly disconnected from the ground reality.
Dubbing Garg's remarks as “irrational and unjustified”, the Chief Minister said: “The fact, which every Punjabi and in fact every Indian knows, is that Pakistan's threat to us is real. Every day they are pushing weapons and drugs into Punjab via drones in a brazen attempt to destabilise our state and our nation.”
He added the “Punjabi soldiers are dying at the borders at the hands of Pak-backed forces”.
“Garg may have forgotten the thousands of Punjabi lives lost in the fire of Pak-backed terrorism of the 1980s and 1990s, but I have not. Nor have the people of Punjab,” IANS quoted the Chief Minister as saying.
Urging Garg not to undermine the Punjabis’ sacrifices, he said: “And we will continue to do everything in our power to fight off Pakistan's dangerous games.”
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