Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday launched a verbal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh while campaigning for the Assembly elections.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Sidhu slammed the prime minister accusing him of acting as a puppet to big business groups and industrialists of the country.
"The wave of PM Modi in 2014 has wreaked havoc on the people now. It has become a poison. He is the puppet of the industrialists. The hug has brought results. It has become a boon for the 15-16 crore people. At least it was not Rafale deal. (2014 ki Modi leher ab aam aadmi ke liye qehar ban gayi hai, zehar ban gayi hai. Modi Sahab sirf poonjipatiyon ki katputhli ban ke reh gaye hain. Vo (hug) to rang le aayi, vo to 15-16 crore logon ke liye amrit sidh huyi. Kam se kam vo rafale deal toh nahi thi.)," said Sidhu.
He had claimed that his visit to Pakistan was as a 'goodwill ambassador'.
Taking on BJP for criticising him for hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa ahead of Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony, Sidhu mocked the saffron party saying that the hug had brought results and reflected as a boon to crores of Indian citizens as he hinted at the approval by the Centre on Thursday for the development and building of Kartarpur corridor.
The corridor will be constructed from Gurdaspur district's Dera Baba Nanak to the International Border (IB) with Pakistan. The corridor will facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Narowal District of Punjab, Pakistan.
The BJP had criticised Sidhu during the Madhya Pradesh campaign for hugging Bajwa.
He also took a jibe at the Central government, saying that at least the hug was not like the Rafale fighter jet deal, which the Congress has been alleging to be a massive scam.
The Congress MP was received by Gen Bajwa and other top officials at the President House in Islamabad for the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The two had exchanged pleasantries and were seen chatting happily before the start of the event.
Gen Bajwa is widely believed to be behind the recent surge in cross-border infiltrations and attack on security forces and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
