Ferozepur (Punjab), Feb 16 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said had Narendra Modi been prime minister at the time India gained Independence, Kartarpur Sahib and Nankana Sahib would have been part of this country.
While Kartarpur Sahib is the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of the Sikhism founder. Both these places are now in Pakistan.
At a poll rally in Ferozepur, Shah said it was Modi who fulfilled the Sikhs’ long-pending demand of opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
“Had Narendra Modi been the prime minister when India gained Independence, Kartarpur Sahib and Nankana Sahib would have been part of India and not gone to Pakistan,” he said.
The 4-km-long Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. It was inaugurated in 2019.
Punjab goes to polls on February 20.
Addressing a poll rally in Pathankot on Wednesday, Modi had said the Congress had committed a “sin” by failing to keep Kartarpur Sahib within India at the time of Partition.
The opportunity to bring Kartarpur Sahib into India’s territory was missed again during the wars of 1965 and 1971 with Pakistan, he said.
At the Ferozepur rally, Shah claimed that only the BJP-led alliance can provide security to Punjab and questioned whether the rival parties to do so.
“I have come here to promise Punjab’s mothers that give five years to Narendra Modi (BJP alliance), the youth of your family will not be able to even touch drugs. We will make Punjab drug-free,” he said.
“Could the Akali Dal get Punjab rid of drug menace? Has the Congress party been able to do it? Kejriwal, who has drowned the entire Delhi in liquor, he too cannot do it,” Shah said.
The BJP leaders have accused the AAP-led Delhi government of “drowning” the youth in liquor by opening more liquor vends in the national capital. The AAP, however, has maintained that liquor vends have only been evenly spread across the city under the new excise policy and their number has not increased.
Canvassing for BJP’s Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi who is contesting from Ferozepur Urban Assembly segment, Shah asked whether Punjab can be safe and secure under Congress rule.
Some projects, which could not be inaugurated on January 5 because of the security breach incident during the prime minister’s Punjab visit, will now be digitally inaugurated before Baisakhi, the Union home minister said.
He alleged that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi failed to even secure the route of the prime minister.
On January 5, Narendra Modi had to return to Delhi without attending any event, including a rally, after his convoy got stuck on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur.
Shah accused the Congress of “deliberately” blocking the prime minister’s route. “Goons were allegedly hired to prevent the prime minister from sharing his heart with Punjabis, and announcing development projects for the state,” Shah alleged. “I want to tell them that you cannot stop us, neither will Punjab people like such tactics of yours.” He targeted the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said it was the Modi government which punished the culprits.
“Before the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, terrorists from Pakistan would strike and even behead our soldiers and get away with it. But under Modi’s rule India conducted surgical strike and air strike to teach a befitting lesson to the terrorists,” Shah said.
Paying tributes to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Shah mentioned the valour of army personnel who attained martyrdom in 1965 and 1971.
He said the BJP-led alliance will usher in a new era of development in Punjab with its 11-point agenda, which include making the state free of mafia and drugs, providing employment, health facilities, farmers prospering, empowerment of women and a congenial environment for trade to flourish. PTI SUN COR VSD NSD NSD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.