Though Channi did not take any names, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that he was talking about Amritpal Singh.
Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday said that the detention of an elected MP under the National Security Act (NSA) is a part of an "undeclared emergency" by the Centre, drawing flak from the BJP who said that his reference was to jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh.
The former Punjab chief minister, during a debate in the Lok Sabha, referred to the 2024 general elections and said, "This is also an emergency that a Member of Parliament elected by 20 lakh people in Punjab has been detained under the NSA (National Security Act)... He is unable to speak about his constituency here (in Parliament). This is also an emergency."
Though Channi did not take any names, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that he was talking about Amritpal Singh.
Amritpal, who won from the Khadoor Sahib constituency by a margin of around 2 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha polls, took oath as a member of Parliament on July 5.
Lodged in jail in Assam's Dibrugarh district for offences under the NSA, Amritpal was granted a four-day parole for the swearing-in.
Channi reportedly blamed the central government for an "undeclared emergency" in the country even though the House went through a brief adjournment in view of a heated exchange between Channi and BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu.
The Congress leader also held the Centre responsible for farmers being termed Khalistanis, adding that Punjab was ignored in the 2024 Union Budget.
"It's not a budget to save the country, it's just to save their government. They haven't addressed the floods in Punjab, haven't raised wages, and have ignored Punjab in this budget. Jalandhar was declared a smart city, but it still has dirty water and a significant drug problem," Channi said in Lok Sabha.
During his address in the Lower House, the former Punjab Chief Minister accused the Modi government of creating conditions similar to that of emergency.
He listed the evidences of such conditions, naming the Sidhu Moose Wala case, action against opposition leaders by federal agencies and alleged mistreatment of farmers, journalists and women athletes.
"The country is facing an undeclared emergency and the BJP is responsible," Channi said, adding that, "Farmers are called Khalistani when they make demands, which aren't fulfilled. This is also an emergency."
Pointing to the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during "such an important discussion", Channi said that the Centre had exhausted all its ideas and sincerity after being in power for ten years.
"Their seats are empty. They need to explain the budget, but no one is here. This is your sincerity?" he asked.
He went on to say, "I come from a poor family and got my education thanks to the Congress government. The BJP's worst move in 2014 was cutting scholarships for minorities and Dalit children."
Slamming his remarks, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the Congress must answer whether the party was in support of the idea of Khalistan that led to the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi in 1984.
"Batting for separatist who wants tukde tukde of India? Rahul ji must answer - the idea of Khalistan that caused the assassination of PM Indira ji is being hailed !! Why does Congress always bat for separatists and terrorists? Yakub, Afzal, 26/11 jihadis, now K terrorists?" he asked.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh termed Channi's comments in the Lok Sabha as "unfortunate".
Speaking to news agency PTI, he said, "The Khalistani who assassinated Indira Gandhi has received open support from Channi today, which means the Congress is siding with the Khalistanis. This is an attack on the integrity of India...what can I say, I will say action should be taken."
"The person about whom he (Charanjit Singh Channi) was talking about, no one can support that idea. He has won and now into the House, he has the right to speak but if anyone goes against the interest of the country, this govt won't keep quiet," Union Minister Chirag Paswan told news agency ANI.
BJP MP Dinesh Sharma demanded Channi's expulsion from the grand old party. "Today, Channi, who doesn't even have the status of a 'chavanni' (a quarter-rupee coin), is speaking in support of terrorists and glorifying them. He is working at the behest of anti-national elements from Canada," he told the news agency.
"The Congress should expel him, and if Congress doesn't take action against him, it means that somewhere Congress is in cahoots with these anti-social and anti-national elements," Sharma added.