The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ended up hurting the credibility of India after he lied about BMW setting up a plant in Punjab. According to a report by News18, the Diplomats of the Ministry of External Affairs have expressed their anger over the lie and said that his statement hurt the credibility of India.
News18, citing government sources, reported that the incident had left the diplomats ‘very embarrassed’ and had ‘hurt the credibility’ of the country and Indian diplomacy abroad. “Such exaggerated and unwarranted claims were inadvisable. The CM was representing the country abroad and our diplomats had arranged the meeting (with BMW). Now, the blowback of this gaffe comes to the diplomats. It hurts the credibility of the country and government”, the Diplomat told News18.
It is pertinent to note that the Punjab government had claimed in a statement that during his Germany visit, CM Bhagwant Mann secured investment from BMW as the company has agreed to set up its auto part manufacturing unit in the state. It was claimed that a decision for this investment was taken during Mann’s visit to BMW headquarters in Munich today.
The Punjab govt claimed that after Mann ‘showcased the Punjab government’s exemplary work to promote industry in the state’, BMW group agreed to set up its auto component unit in state. The statement added that it will be the second plant of BMW in India, after the existing one in Chennai.
The company, however, denied the claims made by Bhagwant Mann. In a press release, BMW said, “BMW Group India has no plans for setting up additional manufacturing operations in Punjab.” The company said that “BMW Group is firmly committed to its Indian operations with its manufacturing plant in Chennai, a parts warehouse in Pune, a training centre in Gurgaon NCR and a well-developed dealer network across major metropolitans of the country,” and it has no plans to make additional investment for a new plant in Punjab.
The company also said in its press release, “Along with cars and motorcycles, BMW Group’s activities in India comprise financial services for its premium clientele. BMW India and BMW India Financial Services are 100% subsidiaries of the BMW Group and are headquartered in Gurgaon (National Capital Region).”
Indian Diplomats cite another incident where AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal embarrassed India
The Diplomats seem to see a pattern in the conduct of AAP and its leaders, if the News18 report is to be believed. While talking about Bhagwant Mann, they also cited another example of how AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal embarrassed India earlier. They recalled the incident where Kejriwal had claimed that a Singapore variant of COVID-19 was adversely affecting children.
After Arvind Kejriwal made these comments, Singapore had taken strong exception. Singapore had lodged an angry protest with the external affairs ministry and India’s high commissioner there was summoned. External affairs minister S Jaishankar was constrained then to clarify that “the Delhi CM does not speak for India”.
