Patna, August 20: A sedition case has been filed in a court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur against cricketer-turned-politician Navot Singh Sidhu for hugging Pakistan army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Sidhu hugged General Bajwa at the oath ceremony of new Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the case has been filed by a lawyer.

The Punjab cabinet minister faced flak for hugging the Pakistani Army chief and also for sitting beside President of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) Masood Khan during the swearing-in ceremony. After returning to India, Sidhu responded to his critics. While talking to media, he said, “If someone (Pak Army Chief General Bajwa) comes to me and says that we belong to the same culture & we'll open Kartarpur border on Guru Nanak Dev's 550th Prakash Parv, what else I could do?” On the controversy for sitting beside the PoK president, he said, “If you're invited as a guest of honour somewhere, you sit wherever you are asked to. I was sitting somewhere else, but they asked me to sit there.”

Yesterday, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh condemned Sidhu for hugging General Qamar Bajwa. Captain Singh said that the Sidhu should have refrained from showing any sort of affection towards Gen Bajwa as the Pakistani Army chief is responsible for the border turbulence which claims the lives of Indian Army soldier.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also slammed the Congress leader for hugging the Pakistani Army chief and for sitting beside the President of PoK during the ceremony. Imran Khan had also invited former Indian cricketers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar as well. However, they did not attend the ceremony citing personal reasons.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 04:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).