Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Addressing a public rally in Punjab’s Patiala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he would have ‘taken Kartarpur Sahib from Pakistan’ before releasing 90,000 Pakistani soldiers who surrendered during the Bangladesh war. PM Modi accused the Congress of leaving Kartarpur Sahib with Pakistan.
“The Congress did the partition of the country in such a way that for 70 years, we had to look at Kartarpur Sahib through binoculars,” PM Modi said at Patiala.
“When the Bangladesh war was fought, more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers had surrendered. Had Modi been at that time, then I would have taken Kartarpur Sahib from Pakistan and then released their soldiers… I could not do that, but I did as much as I could. Today, the Kartarpur Sahib corridor is active for devotees to visit,” PM Modi said.
The prime minister criticised the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, alleging that the state is grappling with a thriving drug trade and burdened with debt under the current government’s leadership.
During his inaugural election rally in Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls scheduled for June 1, Modi emphasised that Punjab has provided exemplary leadership to the nation across diverse sectors, ranging from agriculture to industry.
Subsequently, PM Modi pointed out that the state government relies heavily on debt to sustain its operations.
The government’s authority does not hold sway in the region, where the sand and drug mafia, as well as shooter gangs, exert control, he said.
“All ministers are enjoying it, and the ‘kagzi CM’ (chief minister just on paper) is always busy marking his presence in the ‘Delhi darbar’,” the PM said.
He also attacked the AAP and the Congress for fighting the Lok Sabha polls together in Delhi and against each other in Punjab.
“In Punjab, they fight against each other in elections just to show people. Delhi’s ‘fiercely corrupt party’ and the party which is guilty of anti-Sikh riots are doing a drama of fighting against each other (in Punjab),” PM Modi stated.
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Published: 23 May 2024, 07:50 PM IST
