News Brief
"I Would Have Taken Kartarpur Sahib" From Pakistan After Bangladesh War: PM Modi's First Rally In Punjab, Mentions CAA
Nishtha Anushree
May 23, 2024, 05:59 PM | Updated 05:59 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first rally in Punjab for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Thursday (23 May) and mentioned the work done by him for the upliftment of Sikhs.
He alleged in Patiala that Congress hates everything that respects our faith and slammed it for such a partition that "we used to have Kartarpur Sahib darshan through binoculars for 70 years."
"When Bangladesh war happened, over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered and were in our custody. We had the trump card. If Modi would have been at that time, then I would have taken Kartarpur Sahib in exchange for their soldiers," the PM said.
Modi then asserted that he did as much as he could by opening Kartarpur Sahib corridor. He highlighted that he made langars tax-free and allowed foreign donations for Amritsar's Golden Temple.
The PM slammed the INDI Alliance for doing appeasement politics and opposing Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) giving Indian citizenship to those Sikhs who were affected by partition.
"If they oppose CAA, then who will take care of Sikhs persecuted in Pakistan and Bangladesh? I believe this is my duty and hence I enforced CAA, not to gain votes," Modi said asking people if CAA is right or wrong.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.