New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): Congress leader Ajoy Kumar on Wednesday took to social media to apologise for a verbal slip he made during a recent press conference mistakenly referring to Sikkim as a 'neighbouring country' but simultaneously launched a sharp counterattack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of ignoring major national concerns in favour of political point-scoring.

'Yesterday, during my press conference, while speaking about the deteriorating relations with our neighbouring countries, I mistakenly mentioned the name of a state. I sincerely apologise for this, as it was an unintentional human error (a slip of the tongue),' Kumar said in a post on social media platform X.

However, the Congress leader turned the tables on the BJP, accusing it of planning a press conference to exploit his mistake while ignoring more pressing matters raised during the same event.

'I have heard from a journalist that @BJP4India is planning to hold a press conference over this mistake,' he wrote before listing a series of critical questions.

Kumar listed four key issues he had highlighted during the press conference, which included atrocities during the 'Amrit Kaal,' a Rs 400 crore scam in the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) involving VIPPL company and its promoter Ekta Agrawal, the assault of a passenger on the New Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat Express allegedly by supporters of BJP MLA Rajeev Singh, and an incident involving a BJP MLA slapping a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).

Kumar accused the BJP of failing to address systemic corruption and rising lawlessness, instead focusing on minor gaffes by Opposition leaders. 'The BJP does not hold press conferences on the major issues the country is facing. Instead, it focuses on finding minor errors made by opposition leaders,' he wrote.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla sharply criticised Congress leader Ajoy Kumar for referring to Sikkim as a foreign nation. Poonawalla alleged that the Congress advocates for 'tukde-tukde' (division) of India.

Poonawalla described Kumar's remarks as an insult to Sikkim and the entire Northeast region. He 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 ANI.

Taking a jibe at Congress, the BJP spokesperson said that they follow the 'footsteps of Jinnah.'

'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 parts, and it wants the 'tukde tukde' of Bharat,' Shehzad Poonawalla said. (ANI)