Following uproar over his remarks letting of Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir by Jaish-e-Mohammad militant that claimed 49 lives, Punjab cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been dropped from the popular "The Kapil Sharma Show" on television.
According to a source close to the show, Sidhu will no longer be part of the Sony Entertainment Television comedy. The Punjab Minister, who has been for several years part of Kapil's show, had on Friday during a media interaction, said, "Nations cannot be held responsible for the dastardly acts of terrorists.
"The terrorists do not have deen, mazhab (sect and religion). There are good, the bad and the ugly. Every institution has them. Every nation has them. The ugly need to be punished..."
While the terror attack evoked widespread condemnation and calls for action against Pakistan, Sidhu said that the dialogue with Islamabad should continue.
"Where ever wars are fought and such things (Pulwama type attack) happen, dialogue also continues simultaneously. There is a need to find a permanent solution to (issues between India and Pakistan).
"Such people (terrorists) have no religion, no country and no caste. When a snake bites, its anti-dote is also snake poison," Sidhu had said.
Candle March @narendramodi #palwama #boycottkapilsharmashow #candle #March #PulwamaAttack #DeshKaLeaderModi #Surgicalstrike2 #CRPFJawans #IndiaWantsRevenge Dear @SonyTV please kick out @sherryontopp otherwise we will #BoycottSonyTV #standwithforces #StopPoliticsOnPulwama #CRPF pic.twitter.com/pk4poNDiyo
— Avinash Pandey 🇮🇳 (@iavinash12) February 15, 2019
Salute to the Martyrs father, may God give him strength to bear this irreparable loss pic.twitter.com/kCkWNJPVMv
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 16, 2019
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 16, 2019
Navjot Singh Sidhu absolves Pakistan of Pulwama terror attack & bats for dialogue,says 'terrorists have no nation'
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) February 15, 2019
When will this ignorant buffon realise that you don't talk to your neighbor when the neighbor kills your brothers, you avenge. #BoycottSidhu #BoycottKapilSharmaShow pic.twitter.com/0Iy3uANx8o
His comments led to a huge uproar, with hashtags like #BoycottSidhu #BoycottKapilSharmaShow and #BoycottSonyTV trending on Twitter.
Asked if the decision comes after his remarks, the source said: "There might be other reasons as well, but this thing is surely one of them."
Confronted by media on Saturday regarding his removal from the TV show, Sidhu walked away, refusing to comment, sat in his SUV and drove away.
Sidhu should be removed from the show immediately and he should be strictly advised to be more careful while speaking.
— Pawan Kumar Nigam (@PawanKumarNig11) February 16, 2019
Sidhu's official Public Relations Officer (PRO) told IANS that the minister had not made any comments regarding the Sony TV development.
He said that the minister was in Moga on Saturday to offer condolences to CRPF martyr Jaimal Singh and was later scheduled to visit Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala and Amritsar.
I will not subscribe to Sony if sidhu not banned #BoycottSiddhu
— anant pandey (@anantbhaskar) February 16, 2019
#SonyTV
— Surya pratap singh (@Suryagkp94) February 15, 2019
Please remove sidhu from kapil show😠😠#boycottsidhu
There were also reports that he has been replaced by Archana Puran Singh on the show. But the source declined to comment on the same.
In the worst ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers on the spot. The toll rose to 49 on Friday as several injured succumbed.
#Patna
— 🇮🇳Tushar🇮🇳 (@TusharMohanSin5) February 15, 2019
We are with u ❤️😢😢 #StandWithForces #PulwamaAttack #boycottkapilsharmashow pic.twitter.com/iJQgCAru0Y
Yes, I strongly #StandWithForces and have unsubscribed @SonyTV from my Tatasky set top box. #BoycottSidhu for his pro-terrorists comment.#BoycottKapilSharmaShow #BoycottSonyTV pic.twitter.com/mcPsf3kgs8
— Swami Brahmachitta 🇮🇳 (@SwamiBrahmachit) February 16, 2019
After the strike, India rejected Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua's claims denying her country's links to the attack, saying that JeM, which claimed responsibility for the strike, is based in Pakistan, and the "links are clear and evident and for all to see".
The attack has left the security establishment stunned as it created the biggest casualty of security personnel in a single day in peace time.
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 16, 2019
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 16, 2019
Sidhu will not be part of @KapilSharmaK9 show. Good move by channel. His presence would have harmed the show, as his presence in India is harming the nation. Maybe, some Pak TV channel will give him a show in which he is required to laugh dementedly.https://t.co/lknGypxptc
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) February 16, 2019
So, #BoycottSidhu has worked. @SonyTV sacked him from the show. Now 2nd step, Voters should Sack him in Election. And if some sense prevails, @capt_amarinder may sack him frm his cabinet too. India Stands United.https://t.co/zfzMFZOJbY
— Sushant Sinha (@SushantBSinha) February 16, 2019
Navjot Singh Sidhu sacked from The Kapil Sharma Show after comments on Pulwama attack | Entertainment News, The Indian Express https://t.co/P5SBZJi5s0
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) February 16, 2019
#Traitor Pak, #terror sympathizers shd be flushed out of #India
— Sameer Panda (@sameerp19) February 16, 2019
#BoycottKapilSharmaShow #boycottsidhu #BoycottSiddhu #BoycottSonyTV #boycottkapilsharmashow #BoycottTOI #Pulwama #CRPF pic.twitter.com/VpGeBxduzr
#Libtards #presstitutes #awardwapsi human rights activists of this stonepelters, he is Fighting for peaceful Islam #boycottsidhu #BoycottNDTV #BoycottBollywood #PulwamaTerrorAttack #boycottkapilsharmashow #PulwamaRevenge #PulwanaAttack #StandWithForces #PulwamaMassacre pic.twitter.com/gHpaaQBfc1
— jeetendra (@JeetendraSahu85) February 16, 2019