New Delhi: It was Navjot Singh Sidhu's second visit to Pakistan in recent months and this time it was a picture with pro-Khalistani activist Gopal Singh Chawla that got him into a controversy. Earlier, at Imran Khan's swearing in ceremony in August, Sidhu's hug to Pakistan army chief got him a lot of flak.
Chawla, a pro-Khalistani militant whose involvement is suspected in the recent attack on a Nirankari gathering in Amritsar, was among those invited for the Kartarpur ground-breaking ceremony in Pakistan.
Speaking to CNN-News18 on Thursday over his photo with Sidhu, Chawla said, “What is the big deal in this? I don't know why I am dragged into everything. Why such links are created…. I have no intention of creating any terror.”
Chawla, who is the General Secretary of the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, was also seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Chawla is also believed to be close to JuD terrorist Hafiz Saeed and was clicked with the Mumbai attacks mastermind recently. His photo with Saeed is also in public domain.
The pro-Khalistani militant was also involved in a controversy wherein Indian diplomats were prevented from entering a Gurdwara in Lahore to meet Indian pilgrims who had travelled from New Delhi. He was also involved in pasting photos of ‘Sikh Referendum 2020’ outside gurdwaras in Pakistan when Sikh pilgrims from India visited the neighbouring country on Baisakhi.
His presence at the event on Wednesday and the photo with Congress minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has raised many questions with many calling the Punjab minister a traitor.
Chawla was one the prominent faces of the Khalistan movement that saw largescale violence in Punjab in 1980s until Indian government ordered a massive police crackdown on separatists.
The BJP has lashed out at Sidhu for the picture with Chawla. "Such malicious tactics on Pakistani soil cannot be ignored," said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The minister also said that Sidhu should maintain distance in such meetings.
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