Balachaur : BJP President J P Nadda on Saturday railed against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress as he urged the people of Punjab to vote for his party, saying only Prime Minister Narendra Modi was genuinely concerned about the welfare of the state. Accusing the AAP of demanding “dakshina” from candidates, Nadda told a public meeting: “This is the condition of those who walk around wearing the cloak of honesty. What have they made out of Delhi? Do you want to bring such people to Punjab?” Nadda targeted the Congress, now the ruling party in Punjab, much more aggressively. He said terrorism gripped Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s because of the Congress government. “If zero tolerance is to be maintained against terrorism, the lotus of BJP will have to bloom in Punjab,” he said, referring to his party’s election symbol. He said it was Prime Minister Modi who began taking action against those who unleashed violence on Sikhs in Delhi after the 1984 assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “For 30 years, the accused roamed from Delhi to Punjab and no one took any notice… No one came to wipe the tears of the victims. Modi set up a SIT, and today those whose hands were stained with blood in the Delhi riots are in jail.” Nadda said the same Congress whose activists and leaders killed innocent Sikhs in 1984 has “now come in front of you to ask for votes”. The BJP leader credited the Modi government for the record purchases on minimum support price of farm produce. “Punjab has also not lagged behind in MSP procurement. Whether it is about farmers, whether it is about industry, the new name of development is BJP.” He added: “We will make Punjab drug free. Today drugs are ruining Punjab like termites. Family members are upset because of this. But the government of Punjab seems to be blind.” Nadda said there were many in Punjab who called themselves farmer leaders. “But has there been a Prime Minister in India who has given away Rs 1.80 lakh crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi? “In the last five years in Punjab, about 132.80 lakh tonnes of food grains have been purchased at MSP and Rs 23,000 crore has been paid to the farmers of Punjab.” He also credited the Modi government for opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for Sikh pilgrims. UNI ING MR
