New Delhi: The BJP on Monday accused AAP leader Rituraj Jha of “insulting” the Sikh community by issuing a controversial statement against Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

The saffron party also demanded an apology from him.

AAP defended Jha, saying in a statement that it was the BJP which “abused” Sikhs for years.

BJP national spokesperson Sardar RP Singh and another Sikh leader Impreet Bakshi claimed in a joint statement that Jha called Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators “Puri’s relatives”.

“This is not only an insult to him but also the entire Sikh community. AAP MLA Rituraj Jha must immediately apologise to the Sikh community and Sardar Hardeep Singh Puri,” they said.

Jha, the outgoing Kirari MLA, was recently at the centre of a controversy following a heated exchange with BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala.

The BJP leaders alleged Jha made the comment against Puri during a TV show.

The Sikh community is one of the bravest and has always worked to drive out anti-national infiltrators, Singh and Bakshi said in their joint statement.

“Calling Puri, a respected figure of the Sikh community, a relative of infiltrators is an insult to every Sikh. He is a distinguished personality who has enhanced India’s prestige through his work as a diplomat and recognised as an honest and dedicated minister of the Indian government,” they said.

AAP claimed the BJP wanted to hide how Puri himself announced on August 17, 2022, that Rohingya immigrants were granted refuge in Delhi.

The entire country has been infested by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh because of the BJP’s lapses, it alleged.

The national capital goes to the polls on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.