Fearing loss, Narendra Modi behaving like dictator, says Arvind Kejriwal in Punjab

Anirudh Gupta/Sukhmeet Bhasin/Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Ferozepur/Jalandhar/

Bathinda, May 26

Drawing parallels of his arrest with that of Imran Khan in Pakistan, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal today said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had turned into a dictator.

Kejriwal, who was here to address the ‘vyapari milni’ in Ferozepur, compared Modi to “what Sheikh Hasina did in Bangladesh and Vladimir Putin in Russia. They either put the leaders in jail or got them killed. Senior AAP leaders and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren have been put in jail. This is because he fears losing the elections.”

While addressing the concerns of local traders, Kejriwal said that since Punjab is a landlocked state, there is a dependence on the Centre for various issues, but the BJP regime was not at all helpful. “We wanted to bring coal from Odisha state-owned mines to generate power in the thermal plants. But the Centre asked us to bring the coal via Sri Lanka and Gujarat to Punjab. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had to fight with the Centre to allow coal transportation through rail route,” he said.

Kejriwal said during the past two years, investment worth Rs 56,000 crore had come to Punjab. Earlier, businessmen were moving to other states including UP, Himachal and Madhya Pradesh but now, giants like Tata Steel and corporates from Germany and Netherlands are setting up their units in the state.

Kejriwal — during a roadshow in support of the party candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian in Bathinda – said, “You people remember two years back when farmers went to Delhi, they were not given entry by installing iron nails and bulldozers. Kya Dilli inke baap ki hai? Is baar esa batan dabana Modi ko bhaga dena” (Does Delhi belongs to their father? This time, press such a button that will send Modi away).

He also alleged that Rs 8,500 crore of Punjab has been blocked by the Modi government with which rural roads and other welfare works was to be done. This shows Modi’s dictatorial attitude.

Meanwhile at Hoshiarpur, Kejriwal — in a roadshow in support of party candidate Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal – declared: “Till I am alive, nobody can dare to end reservation given by the Constitution.” He said, “This is an election to end dictatorship and save democracy. During the farmers’ movement in 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not allow the farmers of Punjab to enter Delhi. In this election, you take revenge from Narendra Modi.”

He alleged that the PM was being projected as God incarnate. “Some days ago, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said ‘Bhagwan Jagannath Modi ji ke bhakt hain’ (Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi). Modi also said in a recent interview ‘Main Bhagwan ka avatar hoon’ (I am an avatar of God.). In some days, they will remove God’s idol from the temple and put Modi’s idol,” he said.