Amritsar blast: AAP MLA accuses Army chief of orchestrating attack, regrets later

New Delhi: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA sparked a controversy by accusing Army chief General Bipin Rawat of orchestrating the Amritsar attack on a religious sect which killed three and left injured over 20 people. AAP MLA HS Phoolka has, however, on Monday regretted over his comments saying that his statement was misunderstood.

"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," he said.

Following the blast on Sunday, Phoolka had said, "Army Chief came and made a statement. To prove his statement, he could have orchestrated the attack. This matter should be looked into. Did 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?"

Later in the day, Phoolka took to Twitter and clarified, "Please see whole video. An inadvertent statement made standing on road is being blown out of proportion. I have stated that history is evidence of that fact that governments in the past have caused violence to further their interest. Like in last year`s Maur blast no one should reach a conclusion without detailed impartial investigation. Even a moderate person like me who has always been against Khalistan thinks so. I regret statement that may have purported to be against the Army Chief."

At least three people were killed while more than 20 others were injured in an explosion at Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar's Rajasansi village on Sunday. Nirankari Bhawan is a prayer hall of a religious sect. According to eyewitnesses, two to three bike-borne masked men carried out the grenade attack who later fled.

(With inputs from agencies)