Apologise for praising Imran Khan: Anil Vij tells Sidhu

Senior BJP leader Anil Vij on Monday slammed Congress' Navjot Singh Sidhu for praising Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Kartarpur corridor inauguration ceremony and for allegedly seeking to present the Pakistani leadership on a higher pedestal than India's.

Vij, who is a six-time MLA from Ambala Cantt, alleged that "Sidhu tried to politicise the religious function".

"At the function in Kartarpur, he showed more importance to Imran Khan whereas he should have been speaking more about Guru Nanak Dev. He spared no effort to present Pakistani leadership on a higher pedestal than India's. For this, he should apologise to the Sikh community and the nation," Vij told reporters here.

He also criticised Sidhu's remarks praising Imran Khan and describing him as the king of hearts. Sidhu had said, "Sikandar (Alexander) had won the world with fear and you (Imran Khan) won the hearts all over the world."

"There is some special chemistry between Sidhu and Imran or is it some gameplan of Pakistan? I think it needs to be investigated," said Vij.

Sidhu, a former Punjab Minister, had travelled to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan on Saturday on the invitation of Imran Khan on the occasion of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor connecting historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of the Sikh faith founder, with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, Punjab.