NEW DELHI: Congress leader Ajoy Kumar stoked a massive controversy on Wednesday as he, in a major faux pas, referred to Sikkim as India's neighbouring nation.
Critising the Narendra Modi government over foreign policy and New Delhi's relations with neighbouring countries, Ajoy Kumar said: "First time in India's history, we have ruined our relationships with neighbouring countries in a way that Sikkim, Nepal and Bangladesh are glaring defiantly, whereas Sri Lanka is keeping quiet."
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political nemesis of the Congress, latched on to the remark of Ajoy Kumar and accused the grand-old party of "following the footsteps of Jinnah", labelling it "Jinnahwadi" party.
"Just like Jinnah wanted that there should be an Islamic state and division of India, the Congress party advocates for a Sharia Islamic state in some parts, and it wants the 'tukde tukde' of Bharat... Today, the statement made by Ajoy Kumar that Sikkim is not an integral part of India and is, in fact, a neighbouring nation, shows how he has insulted not just Sikkim but the entire northeast. Congress has always been against the Northeast. We have seen they have bombed one of the states of Northeast. They have said bye-bye to Assam in the 1960s," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told news agency ANI.
As his remark began to spiral into controversy, Ajoy Kumar apologised for his slip of tongue and posed further questions to the BJP, accusing the ruling party of never doing a press conference "on the major issues the country is going through".
"I heard from a journalist friend that @BJP4India is planning to organise a press conference on this small human error. I want to ask BJP; 1. Why don't they do a press conference on the atrocities happening in this 'AmritKaal'? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference," the X post read.
He questioned the BJP over the alleged SAIL scam of Rs 400 crore.
"2. Why don't they do a press conference on SAIL's Rs 400 crore scam? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference. 3. Why don't they do a press conference on what is the relation between Ekta Aggarwal, the promoter of VIPPL company, which was the main cause of SAIL's loss of Rs 400 crore, with BJP? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference," Kumar added.
"4. Why don't they do a press conference on the BJP MLA who beat up a passenger in the Vande Bharat train and the BJP MLA who slapped the SDM? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference. BJP will never do a press conference on the major issues the country is going through, but instead looks out for small mistakes of the opposition leaders," the X post read.
Critising the Narendra Modi government over foreign policy and New Delhi's relations with neighbouring countries, Ajoy Kumar said: "First time in India's history, we have ruined our relationships with neighbouring countries in a way that Sikkim, Nepal and Bangladesh are glaring defiantly, whereas Sri Lanka is keeping quiet."
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political nemesis of the Congress, latched on to the remark of Ajoy Kumar and accused the grand-old party of "following the footsteps of Jinnah", labelling it "Jinnahwadi" party.
"Just like Jinnah wanted that there should be an Islamic state and division of India, the Congress party advocates for a Sharia Islamic state in some parts, and it wants the 'tukde tukde' of Bharat... Today, the statement made by Ajoy Kumar that Sikkim is not an integral part of India and is, in fact, a neighbouring nation, shows how he has insulted not just Sikkim but the entire northeast. Congress has always been against the Northeast. We have seen they have bombed one of the states of Northeast. They have said bye-bye to Assam in the 1960s," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told news agency ANI.
As his remark began to spiral into controversy, Ajoy Kumar apologised for his slip of tongue and posed further questions to the BJP, accusing the ruling party of never doing a press conference "on the major issues the country is going through".
Yesterday in my press conference on 'SAIL 400 crore scam', when I was speaking on the deteriorating relations with our neighboring countries, I accidentally took name of a state. For which I sincerely apologize as it was just a slip of tongue.
— Dr. Ajoy Kumar (@drajoykumar) July 2, 2025
I heard from a journalist friend… https://t.co/vj4vpid8yt
"I heard from a journalist friend that @BJP4India is planning to organise a press conference on this small human error. I want to ask BJP; 1. Why don't they do a press conference on the atrocities happening in this 'AmritKaal'? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference," the X post read.
He questioned the BJP over the alleged SAIL scam of Rs 400 crore.
"2. Why don't they do a press conference on SAIL's Rs 400 crore scam? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference. 3. Why don't they do a press conference on what is the relation between Ekta Aggarwal, the promoter of VIPPL company, which was the main cause of SAIL's loss of Rs 400 crore, with BJP? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference," Kumar added.
"4. Why don't they do a press conference on the BJP MLA who beat up a passenger in the Vande Bharat train and the BJP MLA who slapped the SDM? I did speak about it too yesterday at my Press Conference. BJP will never do a press conference on the major issues the country is going through, but instead looks out for small mistakes of the opposition leaders," the X post read.
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