Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday hit out at the Modi government for fostering tensions with Pakistan and China, leading to serious problems for the border state of Punjab and posting a grave threat to India’s safety and security.Addressing a public rally here in support of his wife and Patiala candidate Preneet Kaur, the Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were on an agenda to escalate tensions at the borders to divert the attention of the people from their failure to implement a single promise in the past five years.With Wagah border closed for trade, Punjab’s businessmen were the worst sufferers. Goods were not going through Wagah but were being routed through Kandla Port into Karachi, he pointed out, adding that Punjabis were suffering huge losses due to this.The rally saw Preneet’s campaign get a major boost with Amloh MLA Kaka Randeep Singh Nabha coming out in unequivocal support of her, negating all rumours of differences in the party in the Patiala constituency.Underlining the importance of Nabha to the progress of Patiala and the state, Captain Amarinder said despite his tight schedule he had made it a point to visit the city, with which his family always had close relations and which came up at around the same time as Patiala. The Chief Minister said both cities had grown majorly in recent years, requiring a lot of development initiatives, which only the Congress could give.
The Modi government was busy dividing the country on religious and caste lines to destroy its strength of secularism and diveristy, while the people wanted schools, hospitals etc, he pointed out, urging the people to decide what type of government they wanted. “You have to decide who can protect the country and the future of its children,” he told the people.Captain Amarinder flayed the prime minister for ruining the economy with demonetization and GST and pushing the poor to greater suffering at the cost of filling the pockets of rich industrialists like Ambani and Adani.Flaying the Badals for bringing the state to the bringing the state to the brink of ruin, he said Harsimrat, despite being a union minister in the Modi cabinet, had not done anything for Punjab, and not even bothered to raise her voice for any of its issues. The Akali Dal has lost all moral right to seek votes, he said, adding that the party itself was struggling to retain its existence, having split down the line. Even AAP has disintegrated, and had no credentials left to ask the people for a chance to be in power, he added.Addressing the rally, Preneet sought the support of the people to free the nation of the Modi government, which had brought nothing but devastation on the people. Only the Congress could do NYAY, she added.Later, talking informally with mediapersons, the Chief Minister assured of a detailed inquiry into the 1986 Nakodar killings, saying his government would bring to book all those responsible for victimization of innocent people in any way. It may be recalled that the Nakodar killings of four youth, during a protest march, had shaken Punjab, which was then ruled by the Akalis.To a question on the 1984 riots, Captain Amarinder said the Akalis raise the issue in every election to score political mileage. He had always maintained that the names of RSS leaders were also mentioned in the FIR in the case and they also needed to be booked and punished, along with the few Congress leaders whose names had cropped up in connection with the violence.