CHANDIGARH: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance aims to create a ‘Nawan Punjab’, PM Narendra Modi said as he took on the Congress and the AAP on the pitch of development. In his first Punjab virtual rally for 18 Assembly segments of Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib, Modi said the Congress could not keep Kartarpur Sahib in India. The NDA government, he said, managed to open a corridor.
Modi referring to the 1984 riots alleged that the Congress indulged in the massacre of Sikhs. ‘‘But we got the guilty of genocide punished.” Modi asserted that the BJP and the NDA always stood with the Sikh traditions. ‘‘BJP always stands for the Sikh community. After some days, I’ll visit Punjab to meet people. BJP’s goal is to create a ‘Nawan Punjab.’ We have the vision and a track record of outstanding work. I especially appeal to the youth that this is the time to make the right decision and together we will build
Nawan Punjab.’’
“Today Punjab does not need hollow promises. It needs NDA’s honest intentions. Punjab needs modernisation at every stage. This is beyond the capacity of the Congress. And also of those who have taken a task to convert Delhi into Jhuggis,” he said in a swipe at the AAP.
In its manifesto released on Tuesday, the BJP promised to entirely waive off the debt of all farmers with less than five acres of land-holdings in the northern state. Besides, the party also promised ‘Mehnat Da Pakka Mull’ under which the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers growing fruits, vegetables, pulses, and oilseeds will be guaranteed as part of the Central Government’s MSP extension programme.