NEW DELHI – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday chided theopposition Congress party for its leader and Punjab minister Navjot SinghSidhu hug tolinkJaved Bajwa during Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony recently.

Speaking to reporters, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “General Bajwais a person who is responsible for the butchering of number of Indians andhis glorification is condemnable. For Congress, our Army Chief is ‘sadak kegunde’ (roadside bully) and Pakistan Army Chief is ‘sone de munde’ (goldenboy).”

Earlier in the day, Sidhu, a former cricketer, reiterated that his visit toattend cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony asPakistan Prime Minister was “just a warm invitation from a friend.”

Sidhu also added that his Islamabad visit was a tribute to former primeminister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that “Late Vajpayee ji had takenfriendship bus to Lahore, invited Musharraf. Prime Minister Modi invitedNawaz Sharif to his oath-taking and went to Lahore unannounced.”

However, Patra said, “Diplomacy is the prerogative of the centralgovernment and cannot be outsourced. There is a sense of equivalence thatSidhu tried to draw between himself and the Prime Minister and former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Such comparisons are condemnable.”

The BJP also raised the Doklam issue. Patra said, “While the centralgovernment was working on a strategy to resolve the issue, Rahul Gandhisecretly met the Chinese envoy during dark hours of the night. Congresspresident should understand and learn it graciously that they are out ofpower and cannot run a parallel government.” (ANI)