PM Modi: Congress failed to keep Kartarpur during Partition

Ravi Dhaliwal

Pathankot, February 16

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the people of Punjab to give at least one chance to the BJP to ensure the state gets an infrastructural push and corruption gets rooted out.

Unlike in Jalandhar, the PM did not wear a turban while addressing a rally in the Hindu-dominated Pathankot on Wednesday.

He called the AAP a photocopy of the Congress, claiming that both of them had opposed the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and “speak the language of Pakistan” when Indian soldiers show their valour.

The PM also said the Congress had committed a “sin” by failing to keep Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, within India’s territory at the time of the Partition.

He said Kartarpur Sahib should have been included in India’s territory as it was just 6-odd km away. The opportunity to include Kartarpur Sahib in India’s territory was missed again during the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, he said.

Modi said if the government of the day had the guts, it could have told Pakistan (in 1971) that its 90,000 prisoners of war (POWs) would be released only if India got Kartarpur. The PM said it was the NDA government which realised the dreams of thousands of devotees when the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was built.

“Punjab nu chardi kala vich rakhange” (we will ensure progress in Punjab), said the PM in Punjabi as he appealed to voters to “give the BJP five years in power in the state”. “From 2007 till 2017, we were in power in Punjab but the rule was diluted because we were the junior partners of the Akalis. Give us five years, and we will change the state’s fortunes. We will usher in prosperity, never seen before. Corruption will be weeded out once and for all,” said Modi.

He also raised the sand mining issue, saying the state was being bled of its natural resources by some vested interests. “We will ensure that this blatant loot comes to an end,” he said.

The PM arrived here after offering prayers at the Shri Guru Ravidas Vishram Dham temple in Delhi’s Karol Bagh on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti. (PTI inputs)

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