In a shocking video that has gone viral on social media, Pakistan PM Imran Khan can be heard asking for Sidhu at the Kartarpur inauguration ceremony, referring to him as “humaara Sidhu”. Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrived at the Kartarpur inauguration ceremony travelling in the same shuttle bus as the pilgrims. While travelling in the shuttle, he enquired for Sidhu, and said, “Achcha hamaara woh Sidhu kidhar hai? Main keh raha hoon hamaara Sidhu.”
https://twitter.com/Geeta_Mohan/status/1193251046568558592
This is a bit too much affection for an Indian leader, given that merely a few days ago Pakistan PM was giving nuclear threats to India. However, Sidhu’s speech at the opening ceremony makes it clear why Imran Khan referred to him as “hamaara (our) Sidhu”. Former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh led the ‘jatha’ of the Indian pilgrims, which entered Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh was also a part of the ‘jatha’. However, Sidhu was afforded special treatment. He was not a part of the ‘jatha’, rather he attended the event as the chief guest on an invitation from the Pakistan PM, Imran Khan.
Sidhu’s entire speech was an exercise in eulogising the Pakistan PM. In fact, even eulogising would be an understatement. He literally went on serenading his dear friend, Imran Khan. Referring to Imran Khan as ‘Sohna Yaar’ and ‘Yaar Dildar’, Sidhu showered praise on the Pakistan PM hailing him as a ‘Sikander’, ‘who has won the hearts of 14 crore Sikhs, and who will now act as his mouthpiece’.
Singing paeans for Imran Khan, he added, “I have brought a trolley-full of good wishes for you. It’s not about the corridor but about giving a message. Not much can be done in 10 months, but you have turned this place into heaven in this period. You proved to be a true friend. For the first time the barbed wires have fallen after partition.” The cricketer-turned politician did not stop here and went on to elevate Imran Khan as the one who fulfilled the dreams of crores of Sikhs, and said, “You have a heart as big as an ocean. You are a ‘Sikandar’ who has won hearts; you did this for the sake of the Guru without weighing the pros and cons. You have fulfilled the dreams of crores of Sikhs, of generations of my family – my uncle, my grandfather.”
जो सिद्धू कभी इमरान खान की बॉल पर छ्क्का मारता था,
आज वही सिद्धू इमरान के सामने "छक्के" की तरह नाच रहा हैpic.twitter.com/OVyz4mV2Uq— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) November 10, 2019
In between this love song for Imran Khan, Sidhu also thanked PM Modi, saying, “I am thanking Modi ji also, it doesn’t matter if we have political differences, doesn’t matter if my life is dedicated to Gandhi family, and I am sending a Munnabhai MBBS style hug to you Modi sahib for this. We have to rise above parties.” He thanked PM Modi “also”, in an attempt to downplay PM Modi’s contribution and to give the entire credit to his beloved friend, Imran Khan. He also bothered to refer to “differences” with PM Modi, though he never really felt the need of alluding to any such differences with the Pakistan PM. Clearly, Sidhu and the Congress believe that their ideology is capable of being reconciled with Pakistan, but not with PM Modi.
Sidhu’s love for Pakistan and Imran Khan has come out in the open time and again. But it is no longer just about Sidhu’s intellectual bankruptcy, it has now really started hampering India’s interests. Sidhu’s zeal for visiting Pakistan and multiple letters to the Ministry of External Affairs demanding that he be should be allowed to use the Kartarpur Corridor, though he missed the Punjab Vidhan Sabha’s special session to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak shows that his visit had nothing to do with religious sentiments, and it was only about his love for Pakistan and its Prime Minister.
It is clear that opening the Kartarpur Corridor is not an act of goodwill on the part of Pakistan. Having failed to make any impact in Kashmir, the terrorist country is now targeting the Indian state of Punjab. It has now set a geopolitical ambition for itself by pursuing the Khalistan agenda. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released a 4-minute video clip to mark the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor.
The video is replete with anti-India sentiments and openly propagates a pro-Khalistan agenda, featuring a poster of three separatists- Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Major General Shabeg Singh and Amrik Singh Khalsa, in the backdrop with “Khalistan 2020” written on it, in a clear reference to the “Referendum 2020”, a publicity stunt by a handful of pro-Khalistan secessionism supporters. The presence of terror camps in Muridke, Shakargarh, and Narowal in the Punjab province of Pakistan, further expose its nefarious deisgns.
By praising Pakistan and its PM for the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, and downplaying India’s efforts, Sidhu has become an effective tool of Khalistani propaganda in the hands of Pakistan, and out of his hunger for political relevance, the Congress leader just doesn’t realise that.
Sidhu has featured in posters along with Imran Khan where they are being thanked for the Kartarpur Corridor, while the Indian and Punjab state governments’ role is being highly downplayed in regions of Punjab reflecting a streak of defiance and pro-Pak sentiment fueled by the likes of Sidhu.
Serious questions arise from the fact that a political leader who has been a part of the Punjab cabinet in the past, and is currently a legislator in the Punjab assembly, is in close and exclusive touch with Imran Khan and defying popular sentiment in India. The conduct of Navjot Singh Sidhu certainly calls for diligent countermeasures. Navjot Singh Sidhu continues his exclusive bonhomie with the Pakistani establishment and his love for Imran Khan has reached an unbelievable extent. His bonhomie with the Pakistan PM, at a time when the latter is enthusiastically pursuing an anti-India agenda in his utterances, both within and outside Pakistan, is certainly a worrying trend.