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Punjab polls: Smriti says Sidhu an opportunist who hugs enemy for vested interest
Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday raised questions about the functioning of the Congress government in Punjab while addressing a special all-women gathering in support of Ludhiana West BJP candidate Bikram Sidhu
Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday raised questions about the functioning of the Congress government in Punjab while addressing a special all-women gathering in support of Ludhiana West BJP candidate Bikram Sidhu.
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She also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for not providing justice to the 1984 riot victims even after so many years of ruling.
Indirectly referring to the August 2018 incident when Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu embraced Pakistan Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa, she said the Congress has given the command of the border state to a person who goes out and embraces enemies. “Punjab me Congress party ko matra wahi mila tha adhyaksh banane ke liye (couldn’t the Congress find anyone better than Sidhu to lead the party in the state?” the BJP leader asked.
She also mocked at the politics played by the Congress as Sidhu has not been named the party’s chief ministerial candidate. “Jisne politics ke liye dushman ko gale lagaya, unke neta banne ke sapno ko unhi ke neta ne chakna choor kia (the one who hugged a rival party to fulfil his ambition of becoming the CM has been disappointed by that rival party’s leadership),” she said.
Irani elaborated on the justice provided by the BJP headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in giving compensation to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.
Accusing the Congress of dividing the country, she said: “Rahul Gandhi is leader of ‘tukde tukde’ gang and Congress gives full support to such people.
She said the BJP abrogated Article 377 in Jammu and Kashmir and provided justice to 1.16 lakh Sikhs who had come here after Partition and got settled. These Sikhs got the right to vote, she added.
She also spoke about the deteriorating law and order in Punjab, particularly Ludhiana, where snatchings were common.
