'Pure BS': Hardeep Singh Puri slams Sikhs settling abroad on pretext of 'discrimination'

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri at Rising Bharat Summit 2025.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday asserted that India is the safest country for minorities and spoke out against those who use discrimination as an excuse to settle in countries like Canada.

Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2025 on Tuesday, the minister said he "never faced any discrimination as a Sikh in India".

"The Sikhs who say this ... if you want to go and settle in another country like Canada, make up some other story. Not because you are being persecuted or discriminated against here. Pure BS (bulls**t)," he said.

The remarks come amid India taking a firm stand against growing Khalistani extremism in countries like Canada, US and UK.

The minister said the Sikhs comprise 1.4 percentage of the population of India.

"Our contribution to the Armed forces is 20 per cent... when I joined foreign service, I had five Sikhs in my batch. Most of them wore turban. So, Sikh never faced discrimination anywhere," he said  while explaining the contribution of the community to various sectors in India.

He also slammed "appeasement politics" by some parties of spreading fear of alleged discrimination among minority groups.

At the #RisingBharatSummit2025 organized by @CNNnews18https://t.co/YF8kOOsuxD

Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 8, 2025

"Look at what a foolish stand they are taking on the recent legislation," Singh said, referring to the recent Waqf (Amendment) Bill cleared by Parliament.

Puri also called out the opposition parties over their take on the fuel prices in the country, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that there is a huge difference in fuel prices between BJP and non-BJP states.

Amid the price hike of LPG cylinders, the minister said the BJP government provides the world’s “cheapest" cooking gas.

Asked about the reason behind the LPG cylinder hike, Puri said companies facilitating Ujjwala scheme were incurring losses of Rs 44,000 crore. “There was a context in which it (hike) was done," he said.

He also highlighted how LPG connections have gone up to 33 crore from the earlier 14 crore under the Modi government.

The price of cylinder has been raised from Rs 803 to Rs 853 for general users and from Rs 503 to Rs 553 per 14.2 kg cylinder under the Ujjwala scheme. The hike applies to both beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and general consumers.