Expressing his love for Pakistan yet again, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has said that visiting the neighbour country is better than going to South India due to 'language and food problems'. He also reiterated that he does not regret hugging Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Speaking at the first edition of Kasauli Literature Festival, the actor-turned-politician said, "When I go to South India, I can hardly understand a word, except for two-three like vadakkam. I am okay with the food there. I can have dishes like idli but then I cannot have the South Indian cuisine for long. But if I go to Pakistan, they speak Punjabi and English and I can relate more to them more."

The remark could stoke another controversy as the minister was already caught in the eye of political storm after hugging the Pakistani army chief during Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony in Pakistan. He had later clarified that it was a spontaneous reaction after Bajwa told him that Pakistan would open the Kartarpur border for Sikhs from India's Punjab to visit to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan.

Reacting on the hug row, Sidhu said that if Pakistan actually opens the corridor for Indian sikhs, "leave aside jhappi (hug), I would give him a pappi (kiss)". "Punjab is no longer the state it used to be. It was made up of five rivers, but two went to Pakistan after partition," he further said.