Chandigarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday sought a 5-year term for the BJP in Punjab and said people of the state want a "double engine government" for them.
Modi also lashed out at the Congress for Charanjit Singh Channi's statement terming people from UP and Bihar as "Bhaiyas" and in an obvious reference to Priyanka Gandhi, he said the entire country watched a particular family from Delhi clapping when Punjab CM uttered these words.
"Guru Gobind Ji was born in Patna, and you say you won't allow people from Bihar to enter Punjab. Guru Ravidas JI was born in Uttar Pradesh and do you mean you will erase his name from the state?" the PM asked.
"You tell people that you won't allow Bhaiyas to enter Punjab. But you cannot tell me a single village of the State where people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have not contributed towards prosperity by their hard work," Modi further said continuing his attack on the Congress. He said that Congress has always believed in making people fight each other so that it can rule.
"What Congress did in 1984 no one knows better than people of Punjab. I was in Gujarat at that time. But I did not allow any harm to any Sikh family in that state," he added.
Meanwhile, Channi on Thursday said his comment had been twisted and lauded migrants for their contribution to the state's development
Channi took to Twitter after coming under attack from several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
My statement is being twisted since yesterday. The migrants have taken Punjab to the path of development with their hard work. They have always contributed towards development, he said in a video message on Twitter.
Our love for them is in our heart and nobody can take it out, he added.
The Prime Minister also hit out at AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on the charges leveled by poet and one of the founding members of the AAP, Kumar Vishwas, alleging that the Delhi CM wanted to be "either the Punjab CM or the PM of Khalistan".
He said that the BJP believed in 'nation first' while Congress and its new 'partner in crime' AAP lack patriotism.
"These political parties question even the surgical strikes and bringing more area to the Border Security Force (BSF) for better guarding of borders. Such parties do not deserve to form the next government," said Modi.
Elaborating the meaning of "double engine government", the Prime Minister said that this means unprecedented development for Punjab in the next five years, it means finishing drugs and mining mafia from the State, it means nationalism first and it also means better industrialization and better infrastructure for Punjab.
"Industries have deserted the State. Not a single industry is willing to return due to policies of the Congress government. Every business in the state is under the clutches of the mafia. Small businessmen are the worst sufferers from this situation. Double engine government is the only answer to all these issues," said Modi.
He said Punjab had a lot of possibilities to do for the BJP when it comes to power.
He said this was his last rally in Punjab and he would like people to understand that in whichever State Congress has been voted out of power, the party has not been able to return to power again.