Aam Aadmi Party MLA and former Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka said on Monday, 19 November, that he regretted accusing Army Chief General Bipin Rawat of orchestrating the attack on a religious congregation in Amritsar.
Phoolka had hinted a day before that the Army chief could have been behind the Nirankari Bhawan grenade attack in which three people were killed, The Indian Express reported.
On Monday, Phoolka told news agency ANI:
“I regret this statement. It was not a very conscious and well-thought comment, and I regret it... I respect the Army chief a lot, and I apologise for it.”HS Phoolka, AAP MLA
According to The Indian Express, Phoolka had said on Sunday:
“The Army Chief made a statement recently. Maybe he has got it done (blast) himself to prove his statement correct. Maur Mandi blasts also took place during elections and these were later found to have been orchestrated by Ram Rahim. These were backed by the Congress but the blame was laid at the door of Khalistanis. Therefore, there is no need to jump to any conclusions now before investigating this fully.”
(Catch all the latest updates on the Amritsar attack on TheQuint)
Phoolka also said that his statement was "misunderstood" and his remarks were against the Congress. Prior to the interview with ANI, the Aam Aadmi Party leader had written on Twitter.
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)