"It is entirely up to Navjot Sidhu to explain about these posters": Amarinder Singh
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that Navjot Singh Sidhu can explain about the hoardings in Amritsar that praise former minister and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as "real heroes" of Kartarpur corridor.
"It is entirely up to Sidhu to explain about these posters. I do not want to explain as he can tell us better on this matter. He had sought permission from me to visit Pakistan. I have forwarded his request to the Ministry of External Affairs. Now it is for the Ministry whether to allow him to visit Pakistan or not," the Punjab Chief Minister said.
Earlier in the day, hoardings of Mr Sidhu and Mr Khan were put up in Amritsar to thank the two for their contribution towards the opening of the Kartarpur corridor.
"Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran Khan are the real heroes for opening the Kartarpur Corridor," the banners read.
The Punjab Chief Minister has cautioned that India "will have to be careful" as Pakistan has a "hidden agenda" behind the opening of Kartarpur corridor.
"I have been maintaining for long that Pakistan has a hidden agenda. On one hand, they will first show us love and on the other, they can try to foment trouble. We have to be very careful on the note the things are moving ahead," the 77-year-old Congress leader said.
His remarks come after a video was released by Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday ahead of the inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor later this week. The clip shows Sikh pilgrims visiting a gurdwara in Pakistan with a poster of Khalistan separatists - Bhindranwale, Major General Shabeg Singh and Amrik Singh Khalsa - in the backdrop.
All three Khalistani separatists were killed during the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984. Bhindranwale was the head of Sikh religious sect Damdami Taksal.
Major General Shabeg Singh was an Indian Army General, who joined the Khalistani movement in 1984 after he was stripped of his rank on charges of corruption just before his retirement. Amrik Singh Khalsa was a Khalistani student leader, who headed the now-banned All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSD).
A fringe Khalistani group based in the US called ''Sikhs for Justice'' is attempting to promote the ''Referendum 2020'' movement by using the corridor with tacit support from Pakistan's spy agency ISI. The video has surfaced just days before the Kartarpur corridor is slated to be inaugurated. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the corridor on the Indian side on November 8, his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan will open the route on the other side the following day.
India and Pakistan had, on October 24, signed an agreement to open Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, paving the way for its inauguration ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The corridor will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.
The route will connect Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district with Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan.