Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu returned from Pakistan on Thursday and played down his photographs with pro-Khalistan elements which went viral during his three-day trip to the neighbouring country.
Sidhu continued to harp on the Kartarpur Corridor and the "infinite possibilities" it had, including normalizing strained relations between India and Pakistan.
"I have come back with a message of peace and love. Let us end this hatred with the blessings of Guru Nanak Dev," Sidhu told media here after returning from Pakistan.
Asked about his photograph with pro-Khalistani Gopal Singh Chawla in Pakistan, Sidhu made light of it, saying thousands of people came to him in Pakistan for selfies.
"Everyday, there were at least 10,000 people taking photos with me. I don't know who is Chawla and Cheema," Sidhu said.
Gopal Chawla had posted his photo with Mr Sidhu on his Facebook page.
with sedu pa g
Posted by Gopal Singh Chawla on Wednesday, 28 November 2018
The BJP reacted sharply to Chawla's photo with Mr Sidhu. "Such malicious tactics on Pakistani soil cannot be ignored," said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The minister also said that Mr Sidhu should maintain distance in such meetings.
Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also seen greeting Chawla warmly on the sidelines of the function on Wednesday.
Navjot Singh Sidhu is already under fire for his visit to Pakistan and for effusively praising Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the event. The four-km corridor will provide a road from Gurdaspur in Punjab to Kartarpur near the Pakistan border, to enable Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the famous Gurdwara where Guru Nanak spent his final years.
Imran Khan's comments at the event on peace efforts and resolving the Kashmir issue have angered India. Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur, who also attended the ceremony, took a swipe at Mr Sidhu on his bonhomie with the Pakistani prime minister.
"He offered to have him (Navjot Singh Sidhu) fight elections from Pakistan. Sidhu seems to have more love and respect in Pakistan than what I noticed over here. He has some good relationships over there," Ms Badal told news agency
Chawla, who heads the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, recently provoked anger in India when he stopped Indian officials from visiting a Gurudwara in Lahore to meet Sikh pilgrims from India.
His name cropped up during investigations into a grenade attack earlier this month at the Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar in which three were killed.
He is also believed to be close to terrorist Hafiz Saeed and has also been photographed with him.
Sidhu was in Pakistan for Wednesday's ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor which will allow people from India to have visa-free access to Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara.
It was at the Kartarpur gurdwara, which is located around 2km from the international border and is situated right opposite the border belt in Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab's Gurdaspur district, that Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) spent 18 years of his life till he died in 1539.
The gurdwara, which fell in Pakistan territory following the Partition of India in 1947, has big significance in Sikh religion and history. Even since Partition, Sikhs have been offering prayers near the international border while watching the gurdwara from a distance.
With pardhan sgpc
Posted by Gopal Singh Chawla on Wednesday, 28 November 2018
"Is India Your Priority"? Navjot Sidhu Asked Amid Row Over Photo
The Akali Dal asked Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday whether "India is his priority" or not in a sharp attack, after a prominent pro-Khalistan separatist leader shared a photograph with him on social media.
Gopal Singh Chawla, the general secretary of Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (PSGPC) shared the photograph on his Facebook page. A well-known pro-Khalistan voice, he was also seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the Kartarpur Corridor ceremony in Pakistan on Wednesday.
"There was a link between Gopal Chawla and a terrorist attack that took place in Amritsar (on Nirankari Bhavan), which is his (Sidhu's) constituency. If he shakes hands with him or does anything else, then Sidhu has to answer in order to make it clear whether country is his priority or something else," SAD president Sukhbir Badal said.
He added that Mr Sidhu should have known that Pakistan has been involved in pushing drugs into Punjab. "It is Gen Bajwa who is behind killing our youth with whom he shakes hands," he said.
Taking a swipe a Rahul Gandhi, Mr Badal said he had a "very good opportunity" to expand his party to Pakistan by making Mr Sidhu the chief of the party's unit there.
However, Congress leader Raj Kumar Verka slammed the Akali Dal for attacking Mr Sidhu and not taking action against Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gobind Singh Longowal, whose photograph with with Gopal Chawla has also appeared on social media.
