A row had erupted after Sidhu was seen hugging and greeting General Bajwa at Prime Minister Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad

NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over Punjab Minister and Congress party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at Prime Minister Imran Khan's swearing in ceremony, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that Minister and Congress party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu did wrong by hugging Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Islamabad. A row had erupted after Sidhu was seen hugging and greeting General Bajwa at Prime Minister Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad.

"As far as hugging the Pakistan Army Chief is concerned I am not in its favour. It was wrong for him to have shown the affection towards the Pakistan Army Chief," the Punjab CM said.

However, the CM downplayed the criticism over Sidhu sitting next to 'President' of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) Masood Khan. "As far as attending the swearing-in ceremony is concerned, he went there in his personal capacity so it has nothing to do with us. About him being seated next to the PoK President, maybe he (Sidhu) didn't know who he was," the Punjab CM added.

Meanwhile, after coming back from Pakistan on Sunday, Sidhu defended himself saying that since he was the guest, he sat where he was asked to sit. "If you're invited as a guest of honour somewhere, you sit wherever you are asked to. I was sitting somewhere else but they asked me to sit there," he said.

"If someone (Pak Army Chief General Bajwa) comes to me and says that we belong to the same culture and we'll open Kartarpur border on Guru Nanak Dev's 550th Prakash Parv, what else I could do?," Sidhu said while recalling why he hugged the Pakistan Army chief.

Looking at pictures of Sidhu seated next to Masood Khan and hugging General Bajwa, the BJP had demanded his immediate suspension from the Congress. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over Sidhu's Pakistan visit, the BJP said that his visit was "no less than a crime".

"Navjot Singh Sidhu is not just an individual but also a member of a political party and a cabinet minister in the Punjab government. The Congress needs to answer some serious questions in this regard,'' BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

Patra also cornered Sidhu for hugging Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. "Hugging General Bajwa is a bigger crime. General is known for the fact that his intervention has caused multiple deaths of innocents in India,'' the BJP spokesperson said.