Amarinder Singh: Modi trying to take personal credit for Balakot strike

Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to take personal credit for the action of the armed forces and said: "surgical strike" was just a new jargon for cross-border raids.

"Modi is trying to take personal credit for the Balakot air strike... The prime minister had not done anything," said Singh. "Was he (Modi) there in 1965, 1975 or Kargil," asked the CM, pointing out that it was former prime minister Indira Gandhi who did 'tukdas' (division) of Pakistan by breaking it into two in 1971 and gave full credit to the Indian Army and Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw.

Gandhi had attributed the victory to the valour of the Army, which is what Modi should have done now, he added. The surgical strike was just a new jargon, a 'jumla', like the others the BJP had come out with, for cross-border raids which had been happening for the past 70 years, he said.

Modi was simply trying to 'usurp' the courageous acts of the defence services, he said, adding that it was India's Army and nobody's "personal possession". Empathising with the problems of the state's distressed farmers, Singh announced his government's decision to allow sowing of paddy a week ahead of the schedule.

The farmers will be allowed to sow paddy from June 13, the CM announced at a rally in support of Congress candidate from Anandpur Sahib seat Manish Tewari.

He also announced that the Punjab State Power Corp Ltd will pay compensation to those farmers whose crop had been damaged by fire due to electrical spark from the main lines during the recent unseasonal rains.

Pointing out that a special 'girdawari' (inspection) was already underway to assess crop damage due to the rains, the CM said losses due to fires caused by any other reasons will be compensated from his own relief fund. "We will compensate each and every farmer," he said.

Kick-starting his campaign for the Lok Sabha election in the state from 'this land of martyrs', Singh reiterated his government would build a memorial for all Punjabis who had laid down their lives during the independence struggle, many of whom still unknown.

On the issues of farmers, the chief minister made it clear that his government would not allow any value cut on minimum support prices by the central government.

Even as he came down heavily on the Centre for 'failing' to support the state government's farm debt waiver scheme, he lashed out at the Modi government for allegedly diverting four lakh gunny bags (16,000 bales) to Haryana to create problems for Punjab, which is expecting a bumper wheat crop this season.

'They should be ashamed of themselves for penalizing the poor farmers for their political ends,' he said.

Slamming the Akalis over the spate of cases of desecration of holy texts in the state during their rule, he vowed that he would not spare anyone found guilty. 'They will have to pay for their misdeeds,' he warned.

The CM lashed out at the Akalis for their total failure on all fronts, noting that his government filled up 40,000 vacancies that the previous government had failed to fill.

Asserting that his government still had three more years to go, the Punjab chief minister asserted every single promise made by him and his party would be fulfilled.

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