Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held the Congress responsible for the merger of the Sikh pilgrim centre in Kartarpur with Pakistan during Partition. Kartarpur — to which a corridor from the Indian side is being built — had ended up in Pakistan because of the “insensitivity and lack of vision” of the then Congress leadership, Mr. Modi said.
He addressed three rallies in Hanumangarh, Sikar and Jaipur on the final leg of his campaign for the Rajasthan Assembly elections. In Hanumangarh, which borders Punjab, he said Congress leaders had “no respect for the sentiments of Sikhs” and did not know about the significance of Guru Nanak in India’s history.
“The credit of the Kartarpur corridor goes to your votes. It was my destiny to correct the mistakes of the Congress,” he told the audience.
In Sikar, Mr. Modi targeted Congress president Rahul Gandhi for questioning the raising of the slogan Bharat Mata Ki Jai at his (Mr. Modi’s) rallies. “ Bharat Mata Ki Jai is a chant raised by our soldiers who fight and defeat the enemy on the border. It was the slogan of the freedom struggle. How can the Naamdar [dynast] tell me not to use it,” he asked.
Earlier, addressing a rally in Alwar, Mr. Gandhi cited the term Bharat Mata , and said it embodied the “entire country, farmers, sentiments of crores of youths, women and labourers”.
“If you [Mr. Modi] talk about Bharat Mata, how can you forget about farmers?” he said in televised comments.
Mr. Modi also criticised the Congress for demanding proof of the army’s surgical strikes. “The nation rejoiced when the surgical strikes were successfully accomplished, but the Congress was apparently mourning. Pakistan got to know of surgical strikes, but those who gave birth to Pakistan did not believe it.”
Addressing the election rally in Jaipur, Mr. Modi accused the Congress of having ruined the country’s banks. “They got loans for their cronies cleared by just making a telephone call. Fake companies created by them purchased farmers’ lands in Rajasthan at throwaway prices and sold them to Mr. Gandhi’s relative. Whoever has looted the country will be brought to book.”
The Prime Minister called upon the voters to evaluate the BJP on the basis of its work in Rajasthan. “Our government has achieved the aim of development for all. You must keep Congress out of power. Don’t expose your State to the danger,” he said.
Mr. Modi claimed that no incidents of corruption or scams were reported during his regime, as against the headlines that regularly appeared five years ago. “Our focus is on farmers and their problems. On the other hand, the ‘Naamdar’ does not know the difference between red and green chillies,” he said.
