Punjab, Nov 29:
A day after the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal expressed her displeasure over Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging the Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Jawed Bajwa. Taking a jibe at Sidhu, Badal said that the former was seen hugging the Pakistani army general who is killing our men. According to news agency ANI, Badal said, “Sidhu was hugging the General who is killing our men. Adding to it, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader criticised Sidhu for spending three days in Pakistan and getting a photograph clicked with a terrorist. Badal was referring to Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla who posted a photo on Facebook where Sidhu can be seen standing next to the Khalistani leader. While mocking the Congress leader and Punjab Cabinet Minister, Badal stated that Sidhu has become a Pakistani agent and Congress president Rahul Gandhi should clear his stand on the issue. Pakistan had extended an invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the groundbreaking ceremony but she expressed her inability for the same. Welcoming the invitation, Sushma had declared that Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and HS Puri would go to Pakistan to attend the event. Earlier on Thursday, Badal had said that Sidhu receives more love in Pakistan than in India. Talking to mediapersons at the Attari-Wagah border, the Union minister said that Sidhu seems to have “more love and respect” in Pakistan than he has in India, adding that the cricketer-turned-politician has “some good relationships over there”. When asked by a reporter about Sidhu’s friendship with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the SAD leader said, “Yes I think he (Imran Khan) offered him (Sidhu) to fight election from Pakistan. He seems to have more love and respect in Pakistan than what I noticed over here. He has some good relationships over there.” While Sidhu attended the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor on a personal invitation from Imran Khan, Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and HS Puri were authorised by the Indian government to attend the same.
