Feb 17: Days after kicking up a row for calling upon Punjabis to not to let “bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi” enter the state, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday remarked that his statement was “twisted” in a video posted in his tweeter handle.
My statement was only directed at few individuals causing disruption in the State, but it was twisted. My brothers & sisters from UP & Bihar have contributed towards building Punjab. We have been together for generations & I love & respect all of them like my own family members. pic.twitter.com/CLzpzLqkVr
— Charanjit S Channi (@CHARANJITCHANNI) February 17, 2022
On Tuesday evening, while addressing a road show taken out by Priyanka in favour of party candidate and Punjab Youth Congress chief Brinder Singh Dhillon, Channi had said: “Punjabian di bahu hai Priyanka Gandhi, eh saadi Punjaban hai, iss karke ikk passe ho jao Punjabion… UP, Bihar aur Delhi de bhaiye aa ke ithe raj karan lagge, vadan na deo ithe (Priyanka is Punjab’s daughter-in-law. She is our Punjaban. So Punjabis, get united. The bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi want to rule here. But we will not let them enter).”
Priyanka smiled and applauded when he made these remarks. She had also told Channi and Dhillon: “Inko samjhayie ke manch par khade ho kar banawati pagri pehnane se koi sardar nahi ho jaata. Sardar sardar hotein hain (Please make them understand that by wearing a fake turban, one does not become a Sardar. Sardars are Sardars).”
Channi’s remarks invited a sharp response from rivals AAP and BJP which said it was “shameful” that he and Priyanka were targeting “a particular community” and calling for the “boycott” of “people from UP and Bihar”.
Channi has been using the term “bhaiyas” for migrants, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejariwal as migrants who want to rule Punjab.
Two days ago, while addressing the media, he said: “These people are like bhaiyas. We bring them to Punjab, respect them, look after them. But we cannot allow them to rule us.”
Voting in Punjab’s 117 assembly seats will be held in a single phase on February 20 and the counting will take place on March 10.
