Amritsar: A string of faux pas by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a public rally in Amritsar today (Sep 25, 2004) to mark the conclusion of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Uma Bharti's 'Tiranga Yatra' left many puzzled.

As he began his address, Vajpayee referred to local MP and cricket star Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was present on the occasion, as 'Navtej Singh'.

Then referring to Bharti's 'Tiranga Yatra', he said former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani had handed over a national flag to the firebrand BJP leader in Bangalore in Karnataka at the start of the yatra. Actually, it had happened in Hubli.

But the piece de resistance came when Vajpayee talked about the massacre of hundreds of unarmed people in Jallianwala Bagh by British soldiers in 1919.

He said, "No one gave the order for firing. No one was present to give the order to fire. But, there was indiscriminate firing and hundreds were killed." It is a historic fact that Brigadier General Reginald Dyer gave the firing orders.

Vajpayee continued that he had heard that no meetings were allowed inside Jallianwala Bagh. "We would like that Jallianwala Bagh remains beautiful but people who come from other parts of the country should be allowed to see this sacred place," he said. But locals said people can freely enter Jallianwala Bagh, which is preserved by the local administration.