CHANDIGARH: Describing Punjab as the land of the Gurus, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a reference to the Akalis that those who destroyed the Guru Granth Sahib were destroying the soul of the state.
While Baba Nanak always said 'tera tera', for the BJP and the Akali Dal, it had always been a case of 'mera mera', she said, adding that when Punjab was fighting for India’s freedom, the RSS was prostrating themselves before the British to save their own lives.
Addressing her first public rally in Bathinda, in support of Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Priyanka asked the people to teach a befitting lesson to both the BJP and the Akalis for the victimisation and harassment meted out to them.
She appealed to the people to strengthen the Congress with their vote in this battle for the future of India and to teach the 'arrogant' Harsimrat, the Akali Dal candidate from Bathinda, a lesson for their misdeeds. She cornered the Akalis on the issues of sacrilege and the 'mafia rule' that prevailed during their regime.
Priyanka said that as the wife of a Punjabi, she felt at home in Punjab and appreciated the valour of Punjabis and their ability to remain happy in all circumstances.
Unlike PM Modi and his BJP, Rahul and the Congress do not play the politics of votes but believed only in pursuing the politics of truth, she said, adding that her party wanted not to hide problems but to root them out.
Meanwhile, Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in his brief speech said, "I will quit politics if I cannot uphold the honour of Guru Granth Sahib." In his trademark style, he said, "Here comes Sidhu on May 17, bhag Badal bhag."