Channi reference to Amritpal sparks row, Congress distances itself

His remark drew a sharp response from the BJP which said he was referring to Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, who is detained in Assam under the NSA.

Amritpal Singh, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate, won the Khadoor Sahib seat by defeating Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira with a significant margin of 197,120 votes. (Express Archives)

A controversy erupted Thursday after Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi said in Lok Sabha that the detention of an elected MP from Punjab under the National Security Act (NSA) was part of an “undeclared Emergency” by the Centre.

His remark drew a sharp response from the BJP which said he was referring to Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, who is detained in Assam under the NSA.

During a debate on the Budget in Lok Sabha, the former Punjab chief minister, while accusing BJP of imposing an undeclared emergency, said: “An MP elected by 20 lakh people in Punjab has been detained under the NSA… He is unable to speak about his constituency. This is also an emergency.”

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Hours later, the Congress distanced itself from Channi’s remark. Congress MP and general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “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.”

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said: “…Channi bats for radical pro-Khalistan separatist Amritpal Singh. Is this Jai Sanvidhan?” Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Channi’s remarks were an attack on the integrity of India.

Lalmani Verma

Lalmani is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, and is based in New Delhi. He covers politics of the Hindi Heartland, tracking BJP, Samajwadi Party, BSP, RLD and other parties based in UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Covered the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024; Assembly polls of 2012, 2017 and 2022 in UP along with government affairs in UP and Uttarakhand. ... Read More

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