Chandigarh, June 19 (IANS) Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday condemned the abusive and insulting remarks made by Chandigarh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Jatinder Pal Malhotra against the people of Punjab at a public meeting.

At an event in Chandigarh, Malhotra had described Punjabis as “emotional bloody fools”.

Apologising for the remarks, the Chandigarh BJP Chief said “if any of his remarks have hurt anyone or offended anyone’s sentiments, he sincerely apologises for the same”.

At the same time, he accused the Congress of distorting facts for political gain, saying that instead of showing the complete video of the programme, the Congress selectively clipped a small portion and presented it out of context in an attempt to unsuccessfully incite regional and religious sentiments.

“I myself am a Punjabi. I was brought up in Amritsar and today I live in Chandigarh. I am proud to be a Punjabi and will always remain so,” Malhotra said in a statement.

Targeting Raja Warring, the Chandigarh BJP Chief said, “The sentiments of Punjabis were truly hurt when the Congress divided Punjab, when an attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib took place during the Congress rule, and when every possible effort was made to shield those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Raja Warring has always remained silent on these serious issues.”

However, Warring questioned the silence of the BJP leaders from Punjab, wondering how they could tolerate such abuse and insult of the Punjabi community.

He said Malhotra had actually revealed the real mindset of the BJP that is hostile and hateful towards Punjab and the Punjabis.

“Malhotra may have unknowingly revealed the BJP’s thinking about the Punjabis,” he added.

Raja Warring asked the Punjab BJP leaders, particularly the state party President Kewal Singh Dhillon, whether he agreed with what Malhotra had said about Punjabis, which included him as well.

He expressed surprise over the silence of the Punjab BJP leadership even after many days have passed since Malhotra made these remarks.

–IANS

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