Twitter
Advertisement

External Affairs Minister assured me of writing to Pak, says Navjot Singh Sidhu after Sushma Swaraj googly

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, on the other hand, demanded a response from Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the issue

Latest News
article-main
Sidhu was accused of demeaning India by hugging Pakistani Army chief.
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Even as the BJP and the Akali Dal accused Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu of demeaning India by hugging Pakistani Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and claiming that Pakistan is willing to allow Sikh pilgrims access to a gurudwara on its territory, the cricketer-turned-politician said External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj had assured him that a draft was being prepared on Kartarpur passage and she would write a letter to the Pakistan government for opening of the passage. Sidhu claimed that he had written a letter to Swaraj urging for a formal request to the Pakistan government for an early agreement and opening of the Kartarpur passage. Swaraj's assurance was in response to his letter, Sidhu further claimed.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, on the other hand, demanded a response from Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the issue, saying Sidhu has been speaking on the matter with his permission as Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has already condemned him over his conduct in Pakistan during the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan recently. He also accused Sidhu of meeting External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj deceptively as she had given appointment to former Union minister MS Gill with whom, Patra alleged Sidhu tagged along. BJP spokesperson said Swaraj reprimand Sidhu in their meeting on Monday for his conduct in Pakistan.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday that Sidhu's gesture of hugging Pakistan's army chief impacted soldiers back home and asserted that the Punjab minister could have "avoided it".

Countering charges, Sidhu said, "I had written in my letter to EAM that 'kindly send a formal request from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to government of Pakistan requesting an early agreement and opening of the Kartarpur passage immediately after current monsoon season'." He said he had a had a detailed discussion during the meeting. "A formal request should go from India's side. EAM said to me, 'the draft is being prepared and I will write a letter'," he added. However, Swaraj had earlier stated that the Pakistani government has so far neither agreed to include visits to Kartarpur Sahib by Indian pilgrims under bilateral protocol nor has sent any official communication for establishing the corridor.

Earlier Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, flaying a letter of Swaraj, also said that there was no response from Pakistan on opening of the border near Kartarpur. In the letter, Swaraj further informed that over past many years, Pakistani authorities have only allowed a limited number of visits of the Indian pilgrims to the Gurudwara along with the visit to other shrines in Pakistan. Badal said that Swaraj's statement has punctured Sidhu's claims, who on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak said that Pakistan will open the corridor of Kartarpur Sahib.

The Kartarpur route along the India-Pakistan border is barely 3 kilometres away from Gurdaspur, Punjab. If opened, it will allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, where Guru Nanak died in 1539.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement