Opposition leaders in Punjab on Monday asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to apologise after he compared party leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, reported PTI.

State Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said it was for the first time in history that someone had invoked Singh’s name “for corruption”.

“Just because you say Sisodia is like Bhagat Singh does not make him a martyr,” Warring had said. “Martyrdom is not achieved for corruption.”

On Sunday, Kejriwal had termed his government’s fight with the Centre as the “second freedom struggle” and had compared Sisodia and Jain to Singh.

“Neither prison nor the noose could suppress Bhagat Singh’s determination,” Kejriwal had said. “This is the second war of independence...After 75 years, the country got an education minister who gave poor people the hope of a bright future by giving them good education. The blessings of crores of poor people are with you [Sisodia]”.

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He made the remarks after the Central Bureau of Investigation summoned Sisodia to appear before it on October 17 in connection with alleged irregularities in a liquor policy introduced by the Delhi government. Jain, meanwhile, has been arrested in an alleged money laundering case.

The Aam Aadmi Party claims that the cases against its leaders were filed due to political vendetta at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government.

On Monday, the Leader of the Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa, alleged that Kejriwal has dishonoured Bhagat Singh.

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“Calling these ministers ‘today’s Bhagat Singh’ is like disrespecting the martyr, who sacrificed his life during the freedom struggle,” the Congress leader said, according to PTI. “How can these ministers, who are facing investigation in connection with corruption, be called Bhagat Singh?”

Punjab BJP general secretary Jeevan Gupta also said that the remarks by Delhi chief minister were an “insult” to freedom fighters.