Panaji: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday criticised Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his “Pakistan is hell” remark and sought to know whey he did not object when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leader L K Advani visited the neighbouring country.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said Parrikar’s remarks on Pakistan and his reported comments on Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan reflected “intolerance” by BJP-RSS leaders.
“Parrikar made a famous statement terming Pakistan as hell, but he had no objection when the Prime Minister went to Pakistan to attend a family wedding of (Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif,” he said here.
The AICC General Secretary was talking to reporters after chairing a Coordination Committee meeting of the state party unit held in connection with Goa Assembly polls due in March 2017.
“He (Parrikar) had no objection when L K Advani placed a wreath at the ‘mazar’ of M A Jinnah and praised him as a secular leader. He had no objection when (then Prime Minister) A B Vajpayee went to Lahore in a bus,” Singh said.
“Why he did not agitate within his party when these senior leaders went to Pakistan?” Singh asked and added that Congress strongly condemns Parrikar’s statement equating Pakistan with hell.
“A BJP leader in Karnataka filed a sedition case in the Court against our former Member of Parliament Ramya for saying ‘Pakistan is not hell’. How can Ramya’s statement be termed seditious?” the Congress veteran maintained.
The Rajya Sabha MP recalled that Parrikar also had an issue with Aamir over his remarks on “rising intolerance” in the country. “The intolerance of BJP-RSS is reflected in the behaviour of Parrikar,” the Congress leader stated.
PTI