Nehru and his descendents always discriminated against Punjab: Badal
Badal said the Modi government has taught Pakistan a lesson through the Balakot air strike and the earlier surgical strike. “However, Amarinder is demanding proof for the valour of our soldiers.”
Toeing the line of his party’s alliance partner BJP that is attacking the NehruGandhi family in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday accused former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his descendents of discriminating against Punjab and Punjabis.
At a rally here in Patiala home turf of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Badal also slammed the CM for allegedly defaming the nation by demanding proof of the Balakot air strike.
This was Badal’s first rally outside his Lambi assembly segment, where the former chief minister spent almost a month to galvanise support for daughterin-law and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is contesting from the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat.
Badal said the Modi government has taught Pakistan a lesson through the Balakot air strike and the earlier surgical strike. “However, Amarinder is demanding proof for the valour of our soldiers.”
Accusing Nehru and his descendents of being anti-Punjabi, he said, “At the time of India’s freedom, Nehru didn’t accept our demand for a separate state for Punjabi-speaking people. He rather divided Punjab. Later, Indira Gandhi ordered Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple. Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for anti-Sikh riots in 1984. What can Punjabis expect from such a family?” he asked.
He also termed Congress president Rahul Gandhi as inexperienced. Besides Ghanaur, Badal addressed rallies at Rajpura and Dera Bassi segments of Patiala.
To a question on AAP MLAs joining the Congress, Badal said that voters never switch over to other parties along with MLAs.
‘CAPT USING SIT FOR POLITICAL VENDETTA’ Badal said he is not afraid of the threats of Capt Amarinder, who is “using SIT (probing sacrilege and police firing incidents) to unleash political vendetta”.
He alleged Amarinder’s statements on the SIT are ample proof of the vendetta politics being pursued by him.
He said that in the past too, Amarinder had got cases registered against him, his wife and son Sukhbir Singh Badal. “I’m not afraid of going to jail as the Congress had kept me in jails for 15 years in the past. I’m ready to go to jail anytime the CM decides so.”
‘AAP SPENT FORCE’
He said, “The AAP is now a spent force in Punjab and this time, it’s a contest between the Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance. We will win all the 3 seats in Punjab.