BJP slams AAP for meeting with ‘anti-India’ UK MP Tanmanjeet Singh
Several BJP leaders have criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership for meeting with UK Member of Parliament, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi whom they labelled as “anti-India.”
BJP leaders including the former Indian Army chief General JJ Singh have criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for meeting with UK Member of Parliament, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi. General (retd) JJ Singh has accused Dhesi of being pro-Khalistani and pro-Pakistani.
JJ Singh while accusing Dhesi of being anti-India asked the AAP leadership to clarify its stand over Kashmir after the former met Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadda. Singh said that the AAP government in Punjab was going the extra mile to welcome Dhesi whose views are pro-separatist and anti- India.
Other BJP leaders have questioned Dhesi over human rights violations of Sikhs in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi said,”Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi targets India when he talks about human rights. He openly supports Khalistani elements in Punjab. He is backed by Pakistan and remains silent when the human rights of Sikhs are violated in Pakistan. Daughters of Sikhs are not safe in Pakistan. They are abducted in broad daylight. He remains silent when an attempt is made to wipe out the Sikhs in Afghanistan. The nationalist Indians feel that Dhesi is anti-India.”
Earlier, the International Anti-Khalistani Terrorist Front also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of Kapurthala demanding the cancellation of Dhesi’s Overseas citizen of India (OCI) card for his alleged anti-India activities.
Dhesi paid a number of visits to various places in Punjab, including the Golden temple complex. He was honoured by the farmer unions for his support during the farmers’ agitation.
Allegations against me are baseless: Dhesi
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, while reacting to the BJP’s allegations has clarified that he never issued statements against India and never took part in the said Khalistani referendum meeting held in the UK.
“The allegations are baseless. Initially, people said that farmers are terrorists and separatistssome even levelled allegations against me that I am anti-Indian. There are some anti-social elements which tried to establish that in 2020 there was a rally which took place in London where I allegedly participated and spoke against India. The truth is I neither participated in such a rally nor did I deliver any anti-India speech. We will have to be cautious about such elements,” said Dhesi.
AAP accuses BJP of double standards
Reacting to the BJP’s allegations, AAP spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang has said that Dhesi has his roots in Punjab. According to Kang, Dhesi discussed a number of issues related to the non-resident Punjabis with the chief minister. Kang said Dhesi is known for his concerns about the Punjabis living abroad.
Kang has also accused the BJP of double standards and pointed out that the party had no issues when Dhesi met with union ministers Hardeep Puri, Som Prakash and former minister of social justice Vijay Sampala.
