Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi found himself in the midst of a controversy over his comments on the people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, just days ahead of the Assembly polls.
Channi said that ‘Punjabis’ should unite and they shouldn’t let ‘UP, Bihar ke bhaiya enter Punjab.’
In the video, now viral on social media, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could be seen standing beside him smiling and applauding, when Channi made the remark.
The BJP has now hit back, saying that the Chief Minister has insulted people from UP and Bihar. It also said that Priyanka Gandhi has insulted the people of UP, where the Congress is fighting the polls.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal also slammed Channi’s reported remark.
“It is very shameful. We strongly condemn comments aimed at any individual or any particular community. Priyanka Gandhi also belongs to UP, so she is also a bhaiya,” Kejriwal said.
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Channi is the Congress’s official Chief Ministerial candidate in the Punjab election. His CM candidature was announced by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi earlier this month, following a tele-voting conducted by the party.
Punjab is going to the polls on February 20 for all 117 seats in a multi-cornered contest between the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and a new alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s fledgling outfit Punjab Lok Congress. (PLC).
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also condemned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for her complicity over Channi’s remarks.
Sarma found himself in controversy recently, after he questioned Rahul Gandhi’s parentage over his asking proof of the surgical strikes.
“Day after her brother sermonized us on diversity and ‘spirit of India’, albeit brazenly ignoring North East, Smt Priyanka Gandhi is seen cheering Punjab CM Sri Charanji S Channi on his despicable comments against people of Bihar and UP! Hypocrisy & politics of tukde tukde at best!” Sarma said in a tweet.
Sarma, who was with the Congress till 2015, has stepped up his attack on the Congress amid the ongoing election in five states.
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On the day of the first phase election of Uttar Pradesh, Himanta had criticised Gandhi for omitting the Northeast in his tweet of “union of cultures”.
Sarma had stoked a controversy while addressing a rally in Uttarakhand, where he said that Rahul Gandhi asks for evidence of surgical strike, but the proof of whether he is the son of Rajiv Gandhi is never sought.
(With inputs from Agencies)