‘Mere apology for ’84 remark won’t heal wounds of Sikhs’
Says Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s statement reflects his party’s ‘mann ki baat’; woos the voters saying saffron party gave the constituency a ‘readymade minister’ as its nominee
AMRITSAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah on Sunday questioned Congress chief Rahul Gandhi if a mere apology for the remark made by his party leader
Sam Pitroda on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will settle the issue or heal the wounds of the community. The BJP chief was addressing a rally at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar in support of party’s candidate and Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
AMRITSAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah on Sunday questioned Congress chief Rahul Gandhi if a mere apology for the remark made by his party leader Sam Pitroda on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will settle the issue or heal the wounds of the community.
Addressing a rally at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar in support of BJP candidate and Union minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban development Hardeep Singh Puri, Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi asked Pitroda (Indian Oversees Congress chief) to apologise. What Pitroda said is actually the mann ki baat (inner voice) of the Congress which has always ignored the issue. Had the party have the intention of delivering justice to the victims of the massacre, it would have punished the culprits and also given compensation to the victims during its tenure. But this was done by the BJP government at the Centre”.
“The people of every constituency want their MP to be a minister. We gave the constituency a ‘readymade minister’ as nominee,” he said in a bid to woo the voters. Giving credit to his party for the Balakot airstrikes, he said, “It was Narendra Modi who gave a befitting reply to Pakistan by carrying out airstrikes and eliminating several terrorists. Modi has not only ensured development of the country, but also made it safe.”
‘NEED TO NORMALISE SITUATION ON BORDER’
Former Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia urged the BJP to look forward for normalisation of situation along the IndoPak border in Punjab.
“The situation had worsened. It was necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson and you (Narendra Modi government) did it. But I would like to request that things must be normalised on the IndoPak border. I want to urge Hardeep Singh Puri (if elected) to ensure development in the border belt,” he said.
He assured the BJP candidate of giving a lead only from the Majitha assembly segment, which he represents in the assembly. “Balle balle karake bhejange Majitha halqe ton (we will get a thumping margin from the segment),” he said.
Puri, BJP state president Shwait Malik, national secretary
Tarun Chugh, former BJP minister Anil Joshi and Fatehgarh Sahib MP Harinder Singh Khalsa were among those who addressed the rally.
CHAIRS GET EMPTY AS SHAH STARTS SPEECH
In an embarrassment to the saffron party, more than half of the
chairs at the rally venue turned empty when Shah started his speech that lasted 18 minutes. A BJP leader cited Shah’s late arrival as the reason behind this.
Another leader attributed mismanagement of the party for not drawing reasonable crowd. The BJP claims to have considerable hold in urban areas.