Afraid of the political smear on its “UP, Bihar, Delhi de Bhai ye remark,” Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has launched a counter-attack against him and his Delhi partner along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chairperson Arvind Kejriwal over his former party colleague, Kumar Vishwas’s remarks.
The late-night newscaster Channi posted a copy of his Election Commission’s letter reversing the ban regarding broadcasting recent remarks made by Mr. Vishwas that caused an argument.
READ MORE: “Bhagwant Mann A Drunkard, Illiterate”: Charanjit Channi
In the post that accompanied it in the accompanying post, The Punjab Chief Minister appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call for an investigation into the issue.
“Politics aside, people of Punjab have paid a heavy price while fighting separatism. Hon’ble PM needs to address the worry of every Punjabi,” he wrote in a defiant attack on Mr. Kejriwal.
He has traded barbs during the lead-up to the Punjab elections, in which AAP is the leading contender.
In the video, which has since become viral and given the political adversaries of Mr. Kejriwal with ammunition in the campaign for Assembly elections across Punjab as well as Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Vishwas accuses Mr. Kejriwal of being power-hungry.
In the video, Mr. Vishwas can be seen reminiscing about an old exchange that he had with the AAP convener.
“One day, he (Mr. Kejriwal) told me he would either become CM (of Punjab) or first PM of an independent nation (Khalistan )… he wants power at any cost,” the video shows him saying.
Prime Minister Modi referred to the remarks of Mr. Vishwas at an event in Punjab yesterday.
He also claimed his claim to be that Kejriwal and his party share been working on the “same agenda” as Pakistan -the goal being “to break India… to join hands with separatists to get power”.
The accusations, he claimed, must be considered by all voters and citizens.
The video also provides Mr. Channi with the chance to smack back at his Delhi rival when he’s being criticized over the “UP, Bihar, Delhi de bhaiye” statement.
At a rally to support Congress, chief Priyanka Gandhi in Punjab Channi had said: Channi was quoted as saying: “Priyanka Gandhi is Punjab’s daughter-in-law, she is the bahu of Punjabis. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi de Bhai ye cannot rule here. We will not allow UP bhaiyas to stray into Punjab.”
The result was a massive political backlash. The first person to call out was Mr. Kejriwal, who described the remarks as “shameful.”
“It is very shameful. We strongly condemn comments aimed at any individual or any particular community,” Mr. Kejriwal stated.
Mr. Channi has since apologized and claimed that his comment was misinterpreted.
“I only meant people like Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, and Arvind Kejriwal (Aam Aadmi Party leaders) who come from outside and cause disruptions,” Channi said in a video announcement.
