The Congress said that remarks about Amritpal Singh by its MP Charanjit Singh Channi are his personal views and do not represent the stand of the party.
The Congress statement came after Channi's remark in the Lok Sabha during a debate while terming the detention of an MP under the stringent NSA act as an "undeclared emergency" by the Central government. This remark evoked a sharp reaction from the BJP, which took Channi's remarks as a reference to the radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is presently jailed.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, hence, reiterated that the opinions expressed by Channi about Amritpal Singh were his own and not the stand of the Indian National Congress.
The former Chief Minister of Punjab, Channi, participating in the Lok Sabha debate, said about the recent Lok Sabha elections: "This too is an emergency that a Member of Parliament elected by 20 lakh people in Punjab has been detained under the NSA. He is not able to speak about his constituency here. This too is an emergency.".
Although Channi did not refer directly to any person, BJP leaders said his remarks were aimed at Amritpal Singh who captured Khadoor Sahib constituency in the recent elections by a margin of nearly 200,000 votes.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted on 'X' seeking formal denial from Congress Party on its involvement with the Khalistan movement, responsible for killing former PM Indira Gandhi in 1984.
The Lok Sabha debate witnessed an acrimonious Channi and BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu exchanging words, following which the proceedings were briefly adjourned. Channi accused the Centre of creating an "undeclared emergency" in the country.
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