'Jinnahwadi Party, Insulted Northeast': BJP Slams Congress Over Ajoy Kumar’s ‘Neighbouring Country’ Gaffe On Sikkim

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at Congress, saying that the opposition party supports the ‘tukde tukde’ of India. The remarks by the saffron brigade come after Congress leader Ajoy Kumar referred to Sikkim as a ‘neighbouring country’, a gaffe he later called ‘a slip of the tongue’.

During a press conference on Tuesday, he referred to the state as a neighbouring country in the same frame alongside Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. However, with the issue snowballing into a controversy, the senior Congress leader on Tuesday apologised, stating it was a slip of the tongue.

"Yesterday, in my press conference on 'SAIL 400 crore scam', when I was speaking on the deteriorating relations with our neighbouring countries, I accidentally took name of a state. For which I sincerely apologise as it was just a slip of tongue," he wrote.

He also targeted BJP and asked them to hold a press conference on the "atrocities" in 'Amrit Kaal' rather than his "human error".

"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.

Reacting to the statement, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla described the remark as an insult to Sikkim and the entire Northeast region. The national spokesperson of the saffron party accused Congress of longstanding hostility toward the Northeast.

"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 in the Northeast. They have said bye-bye to Assam in the 1960s," Poonawalla told news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Delhi: BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says, "Congress is following the footsteps of Jinnah. It is a '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… pic.twitter.com/36fjL62gNV

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2025

Another BJP leader, Sudhanshu Trivedi, said that Congress is a party whose leader, Rahul Gandhi, remains abroad quite often and that the senior leader of the party is unable to differentiate between the country and overseas.

“I do not believe that the general knowledge of Ajoy Kumar, who was once a Police official, would be so weak that he does not know that Sikkim is a part of India. But this condition occurs when you suffer from 'anti-Modi' mental condition and do not realise whether you are speaking truth or lie...I am also surprised that Congress even forgot that India merged with India at the time of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency era...They should drop their 'anti-Modi' glasses and then they will be able to see the real picture of the country and real markings on the map,” Trivedi said as quoted by news agency ANI.

#WATCH | BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi says, "Congress is a party whose leader, Rahul Gandhi, remains abroad quite often. Senior leader of his party is unable to differentiate between the country and overseas. I do not believe that the general knowledge of… pic.twitter.com/8Eh5qbq035

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2025

(With inputs from PTI.)