In a U-turn, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA HS Phoolka expressed regret after holding Army chief General Bipin Rawat responsible for the attack on a religious gathering in Punjab’s Amritsar on Sunday.
Phoolka told news agency ANI that his statement was not against the army chief, but against the Congress that rules Punjab. “My statement has been totally misunderstood. Please see the full video, the whole statement was actually against the Congress, and not against the respected Army Chief. Still, it was an inadvertent comment and I regret it,” Phoolka said.
The AAP leader courted controversy in the wake of a grenade attack at the Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar on Sunday, which killed three people while 20 others were injured.
“The Army Chief came and made a statement. To prove his statement, he could have orchestrated the attack. This matter should be looked into. Did the government do it (attack)? Did the earlier government do it now? It is wrong to repeatedly say that Punjab’s atmosphere is not good. We must get to the root of it. Government must get to the root of it. Those who made false statements about Maur blast, what action has been taken against them? Punjab is a sensitive state. One must not make statements without facts. One must not make accusations. Get to the root of it – who did it?” Phoolka had said.
The Punjab Police said that they were treating the Amritsar attack as an act of terror.