Sidhu encouraged crowd raising pro-Pak slogans in rally: Raje

Terming the incident shameful, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Monday accused Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu of encouraging people who raised pro-Pakistan slogans at his rally in the poll-bound state.

A few people had reportedly shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans when the Punjab cabinet minister was addressing a public meeting in Alwar on Saturday in support of a Congress nominee.

"It was strange to see a video on television where Sidhu was seen laughing instead of stopping those shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans during his rally," Raje said in a statement Monday.

She said Sidhu encouraged the people raising the slogans by smiling at them.

The cricketer-turned-politician was recently embroiled in a controversy over his visit to Pakistan.

The chief minister said the Congress's dual face was exposed as its workers stopped people chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' in Bikaner and its leader encouraged people shouting 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans during a public meeting.

The chief minister in the statement accused the Congress of pushing the state into BIMARU category in past 55 years of its rule and dividing the society on the basis of caste.