Bengaluru, Feb 29 (UNI) Karnataka Congress leader BK Hariprasad on Thursday said that he stands by his statement that 'Pakistan may be an enemy for the BJP, but for Congress, it is just a neighbour'.
"BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekar had moved a Private Members' Bill to declare Pakistan as an enemy state, but the saffron party withdrew it. Why it did so? I will have to move a privileged motion against those channels that have twisted my statement. I stand by the statement I made," he told reporters here.
On Wednesday, Hariprasad said that Pakistan is an enemy country for the BJP, but for Congress, it is just a neighbour.
BK Hariprasad made this statement while replying to the allegations by the state BJP unit that 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans were raised by Congress supporters outside the assembly house on Tuesday during the celebrations of Congress candidate Naseer Hussain’s victory in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections.
Raising the issue in the legislative council, Hariprasad said, "They speak about our relationship with an enemy country. According to them, Pakistan is an enemy country. For us, Pakistan is not an enemy country; it’s our neighbouring country.
Recently, they awarded the Bharat Ratna to LK Advani, who visited Jinnah’s mausoleum in Lahore and said there was no other secular leader like him. Was Pakistan not an enemy country then?"
Earlier on Wednesday, the BJP initiated a protest within the confines of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, claiming that supporters of Hussain, following his successful election to the Rajya Sabha, had voiced pro-Pakistan slogans.
They alleged that the ruling Congress was complicit in shielding the individuals involved. However, the Congress has refuted these claims, stating that their party members were merely chanting “Naseer Saab Zindabad” to commemorate Naseer Hussain’s victory, and not expressing any allegiance to Pakistan.
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