Ludhiana, Feb 13 (IANS): Slamming Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi over breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Punjab, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday wondered how a Chief Minister who could not provide a secure route to the Prime Minister keep the state secure.
"CM Channi is dreaming of forming a Congress government in Punjab again. A chief minister who cannot provide a secure route to the Prime Minister of India, can he provide security to Punjab?" Shah said at an election rally in Ludhiana.
The Union Minister was referring to the security breach on January 5 that left Modi stranded on a flyover in Ferozepur for around 20 minutes.
"Channi has no moral authority to rule for a second term as he cannot keep the state secure."
Promising to open Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) branch offices in Punjab, the state where the heroin smuggling along the international border is high as it shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced border with Pakistan, the BJP leader said if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is voted to power in the state, it would set up the NCB branches in four districts to curb the menace of drugs abuse.
"The NDA would also constitute an anti-drugs task force in all districts," he said.
Hitting out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Shah said: "Kejriwal has nothing to do with Punjab's safety, only NDA can protect the state."
He called upon the people to vote for BJP-led alliance for stability, development and good governance of the state.
On religious conversions, Shah said it was one of the major issues plaguing. "Religious conversions of Sikhs and Hindus are a major issue in Punjab. The Congress government led by Charanjit Channi or AAP can't stop these conversions. There is only one party that can stop such conversions -- the BJP."
Targeting the Congress, he said no one can forget the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. "It still brings tears to the eyes. Channi should explain this sin committed by the Congress."
Pleading the electorates to give one chance to the NDA to serve the state, Shah said the people of Punjab have already given multiple chances to SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) and the Congress. "Now they should give a chance to the BJP if they want the place to be in safe hands and to uproot the drug and other mafias in the state."
In the fray for 117 seats in Punjab are two prominent parties -- the ruling Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, and two alliances -- the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party (SAD-BSP) and the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress.
From 1997 onwards, SAD had fought all the elections in the state in alliance with the BJP, winning three Assembly elections, till September 2020 when the former objected to the three now revoked contentious farm laws and walked out of the NDA in protest.