NDA govt adopting double standards: Digvijay on Sidhu hug row

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today defended Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is under flak for hugging Pakistan Army chief, saying the NDA government was adopting double standards on the neighbouring country.

Cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu visited Pakistan last week to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan as that country's PM. Sidhu hugged Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during the event, which sparked a row in India with the ruling BJP slamming him for the act.

"Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had hugged the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Present PM Narendra Modi had also hugged his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. At that time, the BJP had welcomed these embraces," Singh told reporters here.

"Former test cricketer Sidhu went to Pakistan as a friend of Imran Khan for his swearing-in ceremony. So this is troubling the BJP. These are BJP's double standards," he said.

He claimed that as compared to Modi government, the GDP growth was higher during the erstwhile UPA rule, the Congress leader said adding that the PM should accept this.