'Where Has Navjot Singh Sidhu Fled?': BJP Flays Congress Leader 'For Being Silent'

New Delhi, January 4: Reacting to the attack on Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, in Pakistan's Punjab province, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the Congress "for being silent" on the issue. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, BJP lawmaker Meenakshi Lekhi particularly targetted Congress leader and former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and sought to know his reaction on the destruction and desecration of Nankana Sahib Gurdwara. Nankana Sahib Stone Pelting: Captain Amarinder Singh Writes to Pak PM Imran Khan, Appeals to Save Historic Gurdwara and Rescue Devotees.

"So far I haven't heard anything from Congress on the issue (attack on Nankana Sahib Gurudwara). I don't know where Sidhu paaji (Navjot Singh Sidhu) has fled? If even after all this, he wants to hug ISI chief, then Congress should look into it," Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters. On Friday evening, the gurudwara was attacked by a huge mob while Sikh devotees were stuck inside the shrine. Gurdwara Nankana Sahib 'Untouched And Undamaged': Pakistan Government.

Sidhu had visited Pakistan in September, 2018, for Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony. At the event, he had hugged Pakistan Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa. His actions drew a lot of flak with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh describing it as "not a nice gesture". Sidhu had also pitched for the opening of Kartarpur Corridor, which connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

Earlier today, Union Minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Badal said that "Rahul Gandhi's silence on the incident reveals his anti-Sikh fae". "Cong leader @RahulGandhi's refusal to condemn stoning of #GurdwaraNankanaSahib & threat to the very existence of holy shrine reveals his anti-Sikh face. Rahul working overtime to mislead ppl on #CAA but has no time to take on Pak & expose atrocities it's committing against Sikhs (sic)," Harsimrat Badal said on Twitter.

Moments after Badal's tweet, Rahul Gandhi condemned the attack and wrote: The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible & must be condemned unequivocally. Bigotry is a dangerous, age old poison that knows no borders. Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding is its only known antidote (sic)."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2020 05:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).