What Congress said about MP Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks on Amritpal Singh?

The Congress party has distanced itself from remarks made by Lok Sabha member Charanjit Singh Channi, who supported the controversial MP Amritpal Singh. The party clarified that Channi's statements do not reflect the official stance of the Indian National Congress.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh emphasized this point in a statement, writing, "The views expressed by Charanjit Singh Channi, MP on Amritpal Singh are his own and do not reflect in any way the position of the Indian National Congress." 

Ramesh was responding to Channi's assertion that the detention of an elected MP under the National Security Act (NSA) constituted an "undeclared emergency" imposed by the central government. Channi's remarks prompted a sharp rebuttal from the BJP.

Channi had stated, "This is also an emergency that a Member of Parliament elected by 20 lakh people in Punjab has been detained under the NSA. He is unable to speak about his constituency here (in Parliament). This is also an emergency."

Although Channi did not mention anyone by name, the BJP claimed he was referring to Amritpal Singh, a controversial Sikh preacher who won the Lok Sabha elections from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib constituency with a margin of about 2 lakh votes.

Channi accused supporting separatist ideas

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Channi, accusing him of supporting separatist ideas. Poonawalla remarked, "Batting for separatists who want to divide India? Rahul ji must answer - the idea of Khalistan that led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is being praised! Why does Congress always support separatists and terrorists? Yakub, Afzal, 26/11 jihadis, now terrorists?"

Union Minister Giriraj Singh also condemned Channi's comments, describing them as "unfortunate." He said, "The Khalistani who assassinated Indira Gandhi has received open support from Channi today, which means the Congress is siding with the Khalistanis. This is an attack on the integrity of India... action should be taken."

In addition, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma demanded that Congress expel Channi for his remarks. BJP MP Ravneet Singh Bittu accused Channi of behaving like a traitor in recent times.

Overall, the Congress party is keen to distance itself from the controversy, emphasizing that Channi's views are personal and do not represent the official position of the party.