Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday said his "UP, Bihar de bhaiye..." remark was "misconstrued". "All migrant workers who came to Punjab till date, have toiled and taken it on path to development. We've only love for them, nobody can change it," he added.
Channi further said he was taking about "people who come from outside and create disruptions here (in Punjab)". "Punjab is as much of the people of UP-Bihar, Rajasthan and elsewhere, who come here & work, as much as it is ours. So, it is not right to present it in any other manner," he added.
In a video circulating on social media, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen beside Channi clapping when he made the remarks during a roadshow in Rupnagar on Tuesday. "Priyanka Gandhi is the daughter-in-law of Punjab. Will not let the 'Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi de bhaiye', who have come here to rule, enter the state," the incumbent chief minister of Punjab was heard saying.
His remark was met with sharp criticism by almost all political parties.
AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed his Punjab counterpart's comments "very shameful".
"We strongly condemn the wrong comments made against any individual or any particular community," he replied when asked during a press conference to comment on Channi's remark.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hit out at Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for his remark, saying people with such "divisive thought" do not have the right to rule the state.
"Congress always pits the people of a region against another. Congress CM gave a statement yesterday that received claps from a member of the family in Delhi. Who are they insulting by such statements? There is not one village here where people from UP-Bihar don't toil," he said.
"Where was Guru Govind Singh born? In Patna Sahib, in Bihar. Will you remove Guru Govind Singh from Punjab? People of such divisive mentality should not be allowed to rule Punjab even for one moment," said PM Modi. "Only yesterday we observed Sant Ravidas Jayanti. Where was he born? In Uttar Pradesh, in Varanasi. Will you remove Sant Ravidas from Punjab?" he added.
