Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first virtual rally for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, contending that the BJP was looking to create a ‘new Punjab’. He also said that he would be visiting the poll-bound state in the near future. Hitting out at the ruling Congress during his virtual address to voters from Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana, Modi alleged that the other party had let terrorism run rampant.
“Congress massacred Sikhs, we punished the culprits of the genocide. Congress could not even keep Kartarpur in India, we opened the road to Kartarpur,” the BJP’s official handle quoted him as saying. He alleged that “some people let Punjab burn in the fire of terrorism” in order to remain in power.
Some people, the Prime Minister said, would “always be seen in opposition to Sikh tradition”. In contrast, the NDA had traditionally stood with patriots and protected their honour. “Therefore, BJP and NDA can do the work of carrying forward the tradition of Punjab, the legacy of Punjab with true intention,” he added.
The BJP and its allies on Tuesday released an 11-point Sankalp document, with a focus on the rural areas of the state. The commitments put forth by the BJP, Punjab Lok Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) include a budget of Rs 5,000 crore for sustainable agriculture and organic farming, free rainwater harvesting units to check depleting water table and promotion of allied agriculture sectors.
“We have resolved that a Border Area Development Authority will be formed to develop the border areas. We have resolved that for the development of Punjab, in the next 5 years, Rs 1 lakh crore will be spent only on infrastructure. NDA resolves that a commission will be set up to help the victims of terrorism. It is our resolve that we will give a pucca house to every poor in Punjab,” the PM highlighted from the recently released Sankalp.
“The farmers of Punjab need modern arrangements from seed to market. Farmers need modern cold storage, food parks and food processing industries. Farmers need the best connectivity to export their produce. Our double engine government will work faster on all these areas,” he promised. Parties that had been in power in Punjab for years, Modi alleged, did not have any roadmap to uplift the people of Punjab.
