Sanjay Jaat, the president of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, Agra unit, has put a bounty of Rs 5 lakh for the head of former cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu. In a viral video, Jaat attacked Sidhu for betraying the country by attending the swearing in ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He accused Sidhu of supporting a government “which thirsts on the blood of Indian soldiers”. The Bajrang Dal office bearer said that Sidhu, a Sikh, has forgotten the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh that persons of a certain community can never be trusted.
Earlier on Monday, a complaint was filed in a court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur against the Punjab Minister seeking charges under sedition for hugging Pakistan Army Chief, General Bajwa during the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan in Pakistan.
Lawyer and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leader Sudhir Ojha filed a criminal case under IPC 124 A (Sedition), 153 B (assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 504 A (Intentional act to breach peace) in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad. The court accepted the plea.
Talking to News18, Ojha said he has demanded immediate arrest of Sidhu accusing him of insulting the Army and letting down the nation when the country was mourning demise of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“Our army men and innocent civilians are being killed in cross border firing. How can Sidhu even think of hugging enemy’s army chief in Pakistan. He has insulted those who lost their lives fighting for this country. I got the news from media and decided to sue him,” he said.
Sidhu’s actions amounts to sedition besides creating hatred among people, the advocate said.
The Shiv Sena slammedthe BJP for not labelling Sidhu as a traitor, even though people were termed “anti-national” for opposing demonetisation and criticising Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
The Shiv Sena claimed Sidhu’s act was a “height of shamelessness” as he hugged the Pakistan Army chief who was supporting insurgency in Kashmir.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh slammed Sidhu after he hugged Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony, PTI reported.
“Everyday our jawans are getting martyred. To hug their Chief General Bajwa…I am against this. The fact is that the man should understand that our soldiers are being killed every day,” he told news agency ANI.
In response, Sidhu defended himself by saying, ““If someone (Bajwa) comes to me and says that we belong to the same culture and we’ll open Kartarpur border on Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th Prakash Parv, what else I could do?”
Earlier, while talking to reporters after his arrival to Pakistan, Sidhu said he had come to the country “with a message of love” to become a part of Khan’s happiness.
He said he was saddened by the demise of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who he recalled had started the friendship bus service between the two countries. He said he had brought a Kashmiri shawl as a gift for the PM-in-waiting.
Senior BJP Leader Subramaniam Swamy slammed Sidhu on for his plan to travel to Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of PM-in-waiting Imran Khan. Swamy to news agency ANI said, “This visit would be a big blow to his political career, people will call it treachery and if he is mentally sound and stable he should not do the same.”
