Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu landed in hot water recently as his visit to Pakistan ended up becoming everything it was never meant to be.
The build-up to it had been fairly straightforward.
Imran Khan, former skipper of the Pakistan cricket team and the then prime minister-designate of the country, had personally invited Sidhu – now a cabinet minister in Punjab – to attend his swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad.
Khan had reportedly invited a couple of his other cricketing friends and contemporaries from India as well, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev to be precise, but they had taken a rain check citing “prior commitments” and “personal reason”, respectively.
Sidhu, on the other hand, had expressed before the Union Home Ministry and the Punjab Chief Minister’s office his wish to attend the event – for which he had received fairly prompt permissions, just the way he had received visa from Pakistani authorities as well.
And so, off he flew to Islamabad, where he attended the big event on August 18 at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President House) looking dapper in a blue suit and pink turban.
During his visit he also won hearts in Pakistan with what he told the state-run PTV: “A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country.”
Expressing hope that Khan’s victory would do wonders for the peace process between the two neighbours, Sidhu said: “Athletes and artists erase distances (between countries) … I have come here bearing the message of love, and prayers for Pakistanis.”
“Hindustan jeevey, Pakistan jeevey!” Sidhu chanted as he welcomed the “change” in Pakistan that the Imran Khan-led Tehreek-e-Insaf government came with a promise of.
The generally jovial son of Punjab was also seen hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa prior to the swearing-in ceremony.
And that was all it took for all hell to break loose back home.
The BJP attacked Sidhu for his hugging act and demanded his suspension from the party immediately.
The also used the opportunity to attack the Congress party over statements made by some of its leaders during their visits to Pakistan and asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi whether Sidhu had his permission to go there and whether he would suspend him immediately.
BIG DEAL
“It is not an ordinary thing. Sidhu is not an ordinary man but a minister in the Punjab government. And every Indian has taken this issue very seriously,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters, adding why Sidhu did not object when PoK President Masood Khan was made to sit next to him.
Firing salvos at the Congress President, Patra said, “Rahulji, did you grant permission to Sidhu to go to Pakistan? Will you suspend him before his arrival in the country?”
Slamming Sidhu, he said that before hugging Pakistan’s Army Chief, did he not remember how their army killed innocent people and armymen in India.
Raking up the statements of several Congress leaders visiting Pakistan and praising Pakistan, the BJP leader said, “Salman Khurshid went to Pakistan and said Narendra Modi government did not want peace with Pakistan. Even Mani Shankar Aiyar in an interview in Pakistan in November, 2015 said that Modi government should be removed,” he said.
“In June this year, Ghulam Nabi Azad also questioned Army’s action in Jammu and Kashmir after he said that the armed forces kill more civilians than the terrorists,” he said adding that another Congress leader Saifuddin Soz had said that he stood with Gen Pervez Musharraf and demanded an independent Kashmir.
“And today Sidhuji said that he wants to thank the people of Pakistan. For what does he want to say ‘thank you’ to them? For sending terrorists, for killing innocents, for killing our soldiers?” Patra asked.
The BJP leader also slammed the Congress President and its leaders for questioning the surgical strike and its leaders disrespecting the Army Chief of the country. “Your (Gandhi) party leaders disrespect the army chief of the country by calling him a street goon, while your leader (Sidhu) believes Pakistan’s army chief (saying) that they want peace,” he added.
It was not just the opposition from where Sidhu drew flak.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also said his Sidhu’s hug to the Pakistani army chief was “not a nice gesture”. Sidhu should have avoided indulging in such a gesture when Indian soldiers are getting killed every day on the borders, the Chief Minister told reporters in Chandigarh.
“After all, it is the Army chief who gives orders to kill, with soldiers merely following the order,” the Chief Minister said.
“Bajwa is responsible for the deaths of our soldiers and Sidhu should not have shown such niceties towards him,” Amarinder Singh said.
As for Sidhu sitting next to PoK President Masood Khan at the swearing-in of Imran Khan, however, Amarinder Singh defended his minister saying that the former cricketer “possibly did not know who he was and in any case the seating arrangement was not in his hands”.
The Chief Minister also dismissed the opposition’s demand for Sidhu’s resignation.
Soon a case was filed against Sidhu in a Bihar court for insulting the Indian Army by hugging Pakistan’s Army Chief.
Lawyer Sudhur Ojha filed the case in Muzaffarpur’s Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court.
Ojha said he had filed the case under Indian Penal Case sections involving sedition. In his complaint, he said Sidhu’s gesture hurt the people of the country. “The court has admitted the case and will hear it next week,” he said.
With an ever intensifying barrage of accusations being hurled at him, Sidhu had to bat for himself promptly.
Slamming those who criticized him Sidhu said that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa met him barely for a minute before the swearing-in ceremony started.
“I did not meet him later,” he told reporters.
Sidhu also said that his seating at the ceremony was changed at the last minute and he did not know who sat next to him. Without mincing words, he said his visit to Pakistan was a tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who wanted peace between the two countries.
Sidhu said he received a lot of love and affection in Pakistan and was disappointed by some of the reactions in India.
He explained that he went to Pakistan at the invitation and repeated reminders from Imran Khan. “Even our government gave permission to me to visit Pakistan. Two days after Pakistan gave him the visa, our External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called me and said that I had been given permission (to go),” Sidhu said.
KINDRED SPIRIT
Sidhu also received immediate support from across the border from his former fellow cricketer.
Finally having become Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan thanked Sidhu for attending his oath taking and called those targeting him in India as “doing great disservice to peace in the subcontinent”.
“I want to thank Sidhu for coming to Pakistan for my oath taking. He was an ambassador of peace and was given amazing love and affection by the people of Pakistan. Those in India who targeted him are doing a great disservice to peace in the subcontinent — without peace our people cannot progress,” Khan tweeted.
Meanwhile, Sidhu also pointed out that no one had raised questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled visit to Pakistan.
“My visit was not about politics but on a warm invite from an old friend. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had travelled on the bus to Lahore and Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled trip to Lahore in 2015, on his way back from an official visit to Afghanistan.”
During that surprise stopover, Modi had hugged then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he said.
“No one is questioning Prime Minister Modi,” he added.
Responding to Amarinder Singh’s criticism, Sidhu said: “I was criticised by the Captain (Amarinder Singh), by top Congress leaders. It is not necessary that if the Captain has spoken against me, I should too.”
“Many people from Congress have spoken on this, including Captain Sahab. It’s a democracy and everyone has the right to have an opinion,” Sidhu said.
Sidhu’s fervent defence egged on another round of altercation between the BJP and the Congress.
Hitting out at Sidhu for drawing a parallel between his visit to Pakistan and that of then Prime Minister Vajpayee, the BJP reminded the Congress minister that diplomacy is the Centre’s prerogative, not of an individual minister.
Addressing the media in the national capital, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra once again flayed the Congress President on the controversy over Sidhu’s Pakistan visit.
“Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that Sidhu should not have hugged Bajwa… but Sidhu held a press conference and tried to justify it (hug). At whose behest? Of course, at the behest of Rahul Gandhi. Nothing can happen in the Congress without Rahul Gandhi’s permission. Thus, we want an answer from Rahul ji,” Patra said.
“Gandhi cannot run a government parallel to the government of India. Diplomacy is the prerogative of the central government. It does not come under the state governments. Any individual Minister cannot decide on it,” he said.
“Gandhi should have kept in mind that diplomacy cannot be given to anyone in proxy, or it cannot be outsourced. You are out of power and you have to learn this graciously.”
Patra said it was not “appropriate” for Sidhu to draw parallels with then Prime Minister Vajpayee since he was only a state minister.
“One Congress leader called our Army chief ‘sadak ke gunde’. Our Army chief is ‘Sadak ke gunde’ and that in Pakistan ‘sone de munde’… we are annoyed there are people within the Congress trying to promote Pakistan interests. You are glorifying General Bajwa by saying that here is a man who wants peace and prosperity,” the BJP leader said.
“Sidhu tried to tell 125 crore Indians that they have a ‘chhota dil’ (small heart) because India is not pitching for peace with Pakistan.”
The escalation of the matter by the BJP worked eventually in Sidhu’s favour as it incited an all-out counteroffensive from Congress.
Terming Sidhu’s visit to Pakistan a non-issue since he went there in his personal capacity, the party turned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him as to what happened to the red lines of ‘no-talks’ till terror from Pakistan stops.
It said the PM’s letter to his newly elected counterpart Imran Khan was to “obfuscate this government’s lack of policy.”
NEW ISSUE
With Modi having written to Khan saying India desires “constructive engagement” with Islamabad, the Congress demanded that the Prime Minister should make the letter public to clear the air about multiple narratives about ‘resumption of dialogue’ with Pakistan.
The party said India and Pakistan relations are extremely complicated. “Navjot Singh Sidhu is not the issue,” it emphasized.
“The real issue is the relationship between India and Pakistan, the impact of the India-Pakistan stand-off on South Asia and the complete absence of the NDA-BJP government’s policy towards Pakistan,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.
“There seems to be a suggestion of resumption of a dialogue despite all the red lines,” he said. “These lines mean that there will be no talks till terror from Pakistan stops, till the trial of the 26/11 perpetrators is not resumed, till Lakhvi is not put back in the prison, till Hafiz Saeed, who heads the Jamat-ud-Dawa, is not incarcerated,” he said.
“So there has been a concerted attempt by the government to try and obfuscate this. That is the real issue,” he added.
On government contradicting Pakistan’s foreign minister’s claim on PM’s offer on India’s overtures for talks with Pakistan, Tewari said: “The difficulty with this government is, it only speaks through sources on uncomfortable questions.”
“You have a second narrative on ‘sources in India’ which says that no such offer has been made. So why does not the Prime minister make the letter public, which he has written to Prime Minister Imran Khan?” he asked.
“I think, it would be appropriate that the letter be put it in the public space so that the whole thing can be clarified. And may I also add, I don’t see the government doing so,” he added.
Tewari said it was not the responsibility of the Congress to suggest a policy. “We conceptualized policy and implemented it for 10 years while we were in government,” he said.
“The NDA-BJP government has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous on their Pakistan policy,” he said.
Soon after this the slamming of Sidhu seemed like a forgotten issue. This led many political observers to conclude that Sidhu and his hugging act had only become a means to scoring some political goals ahead of the 2019 elections. At the end of the day, the Sidhu controversy was much ado about nothing. n
DEAD BALL
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